STORY 

INESE 
FTERATURE 


HERBERT 

A. 

GILES 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


A  HISTORY  OF 

CHINESE  LITERATURE 


BY 


HERBERT  A.  GILES,  M.  A.,  LL.  D.  (ABERD.) 

PROFESSOR   OF   CHINESE   IN   THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   CAMBRIDGE 
AND    LATE   H.  B.  M.  CONSUL   AT   NINGPO 


NEW    YORK    AND    LONDON 

D.  APPLETON   AND   COMPANY 
1927 


COPYRIGHT,  1901, 
BY  D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY. 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


TL 
312 1.5 


PREFACE 


THIS  is  the  first  attempt  made  in  any  language,  including 
Chinese,  to  produce  a  history  of  Chinese  literature. 

Native  scholars,  with  their  endless  critiques  and 
appreciations  of  individual  works,  do  not  seem  ever  to 
have  contemplated  anything  of  the  kind,  realising,  no 
doubt,  the  utter  hopelessness,  from  a  Chinese  point 
of  view,  of  achieving  even  comparative  success  in  a 
general  historical  survey  of  the  subject.  The  volu- 
minous character  of  a  literature  which  was  already  in 
existence  some  six  centuries  before  the  Christian  era, 
and  has  run  on  uninterruptedly  until  the  present  date, 
may  well  have  given  pause  to  writers  aiming  at  com- 
pleteness. The  foreign  student,  however,  is  on  a  totally 
different  footing.  It  may  be  said  without  offence  that 
a  work  which  would  be  inadequate  to  the  requirements 
of  a  native  public,  may  properly  be  submitted  to  Eng- 
lish readers  as  an  introduction  into  the  great  field  which 
lies  beyond. 

Acting  upon  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Gosse,  to  whom  I 
am  otherwise  indebted  for  many  valuable  hints,  I  have 
devoted  a  large  portion  of  this  book  to  translation,  thus 
enabling  the  Chinese  author,  so  far  as  translation  will 
allow,  to  speak  for  himself.  I  have  also  added,  here  and 
there,  remarks  by  native  critics,  that  the  reader  may  be 


o., 


vi  PREFACE 

able  to  form  an  idea  of  the  point  of  view  from  which  the 
Chinese  judge  their  own  productions. 

It  only  remains  to  be  stated  that  the  translations, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  passages  from  Legge's 
"Chinese  Classics,"  in  each  case  duly  acknowledged, 
are  my  own. 

HERBERT  A.  GILES. 
CAMBRIDGE. 


CONTENTS 


BOOK  THE  FIRST— THE  FEUDAL  PERIOD  (B.C.  600-200) 

CRAP.  PAGE 

I.   LEGENDARY   AGES— EARLY   CHINESE   CIVILISATION— ORIGIN    OF 

WRITING 3 

II.   CONFUCIUS — THE    FIVE  CLASSICS 7 

III.  THE    FOUR   BOOKS — MENCIUS 32 

IV.  MISCELLANEOUS   WRITERS 43  • 

V.    POETRY — INSCRIPTIONS 50 

VI.  TAOISM— THE   "  TAO-TE-CHING " 56 

BOOK  THE  SECOND— THE  HAN  DYNASTY 

(B.C.  200-A.D.  2OO) 

i.  THE  "FIRST  EMPEROR" — THE  BURNING  OF  THE  BOOKS — MIS- 
CELLANEOUS WRITERS 77 

II.  POETRY 97 

III.  HISTORY — LEXICOGRAPHY 102 

IV.  BUDDHISM 110 

BOOK  THE  THIRD— MINOR  DYNASTIES  (A.D.  200-600) 

I.    POETRY — MISCELLANEOUS   LITERATURE 1 19 

II.   CLASSICAL   SCHOLARSHIP 137 

BOOK  THE  FOURTH— THE  TANG  DYNASTY  (A.D.  600-900) 

I.   POETRY 143 

II.   CLASSICAL  AND   GENERAL   LITERATURE 1^9 

Vii 


viii  CONTENTS 

BOOK  THE  FIFTH— THE  SUNG  DYNASTY  (A.D.  900-1200) 

CHAP.  PAGB 

I.  THE  INVENTION  OF  BLOCK-PRINTING 2O9 

II.   HISTORY — CLASSICAL  AND  GENERAL  LITERATURE      .  .  .  212 

III.  POETRY 232 

IV.  DICTIONARIES — ENCYCLOPEDIAS — MEDICAL  JURISPRUDENCE      .  238 

BOOK  THE  SIXTH— THE  MONGOL  DYNASTY 
(A.D.  1200-1368) 

I.   MISCELLANEOUS   LITERATURE — POETRY 247 

II.   THE  DRAMA 256 

III.   THE   NOTEL 276 

BOOK  THE  SEVENTH— THE  MING  DYNASTY 
(A.D.  1368-1644) 

I.  MISCELLANEOUS    LITERATURE  —  MATERIA    MEDICA — ENCYCLO- 
PEDIA OF  AGRICULTURE 2QI 

II.  NOVELS  AND  PLAYS 309 

III.  POETRY 329 

BOOK  THE  EIGHTH— THE  MANCHU  DYNASTY 
(A.D.  1644-1900) 

I.  THE   "LIAO  CHAl" — THE   "HUNG   LOU   MENG "  .          .          .          .  337 

II.   THE  EMPERORS   K*ANG   HSI   AND  CH'lEN   LUNG  ....  385 

III.  CLASSICAL  AND   MISCELLANEOUS   LITERATURE — POETRY      .  .  39! 

IV.  WALL     LITERATURE — JOURNALISM — WIT     AND     HUMOUR — PRO- 

VERBS  AND   MAXIMS 425 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE 441 

INDEX 443 


BOOK    THE    FIRST 
THE  FEUDAL  PERIOD  (B.C.  600-200) 


BOOK   THE    FIRST 

THE  FEUDAL   PERIOD  (B.C.  600^200) 

CHAPTER  I 

LEGENDARY    AGES— EARLY    CHINESE    CIVILISA- 
TION—ORIGIN  OF  WRITING 

THE  date  of  the  beginning  of  all  things  has  been  nicely 
calculated  by  Chinese  chronologers.  There  was  first  of 
all  a  period  when  Nothing  existed,  though  some  enthu- 
siasts have  attempted  to  deal  with  a  period  antecedent 
even  to  that.  Gradually  Nothing  took  upon  itself  the 
form  and  limitations  of  Unity,  represented  by  a  point  at 
the  centre  of  a  circle.  Thus  there  was  a  Great  Monad, 
a  First  Cause,  an  Aura,  a  Zeitgeist,  or  whatever  one 
may  please  to  call  it. 

After  countless  ages,  spent  apparently  in  doing 
nothing,  this  Monad  split  into  Two  Principles,  one 
active,  the  other  passive  ;  one  positive,  the  other  nega- 
tive ;  light  and  darkness  ;  male  and  female.  The  inter- 
action of  these  Two  Principles  resulted  in  the  production 
of  all  things,  as  we  see  them  in  the  universe  around  us, 
2,269,381  years  ago.  Such  is  the  cosmogony  of  the 
Chinese  in  a  nutshell. 


4  CHINESE   LITERATURE 

The  more  sober  Chinese  historians,  however,  are  con- 
tent to  begin  with  a  sufficiently  mythical  emperor,  who 
reigned  only  2800  years  before  the  Christian  era.  The 
practice  of  agriculture,  the  invention  of  wheeled  vehicles, 
and  the  simpler  arts  of  early  civilisation  are  generally 
referred  to  this  period ;  but  to  the  dispassionate  Euro- 
pean student  it  is  a  period  of  myth  and  legend  :  in  fact, 
we  know  very  little  about  it.  Neither  do  we  know  much, 
in  the  historical  sense,  of  the  numerous  rulers  whose 
names  and  dates  appear  in  the  chronology  of  the  suc- 
ceeding two  thousand  years.  It  is  not  indeed  until  we 
reach  the  eighth  century  B.C.  that  anything  like  history 
can  be  said  to  begin. 

For  reasons  which  will  presently  be  made  plain,  the 
sixth  century  B.C.  is  a  convenient  starting-point  for  the 
student  of  Chinese  literature. 

China  was  then  confined  to  a  comparatively  small 
area,  lying  for  the  most  part  between  the  Yellow  River 
on  the  north  and  the  river  Yang-tsze  on  the  south.  No 
one  knows  where  the  Chinese  came  from.  Some  hold 
the  fascinating  theory  that  they  were  emigrants  from 
Accadia  in  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Babylonia ;  others 
have  identified  them  with  the  lost  tribes  of  Israel.  No 
one  seems  to  think  they  can  possibly  have  originated  in 
the  fertile  plains  where  they  are  now  found.  It  appears 
indeed  to  be  an  ethnological  axiom  that  every  race  must 
have  come  from  somewhere  outside  its  own  territory. 
However  that  may  be,  the  China  of  the  eighth  century 
B.C.  consisted  of  a  number  of  Feudal  States,  ruled  by 
nobles  owning  allegiance  to  a  Central  State,  at  the  head 
of  which  was  a  king.  The  outward  tokens  of  subjection 
were  homage  and  tribute  ;  but  after  all,  the  allegiance 
must  have  been  more  nominal  than  real,  each  State  being 


FEUDALISM  5 

practically  an  independent  kingdom.  This  condition  of 
things  was  the  cause  of  much  mutual  jealousy,  and  often 
of  bloody  warfare,  several  of  the  States  hating  one  an- 
other quite  as  cordially  as  Athens  and  Sparta  at  their  best. 

There  was,  notwithstanding,  considerable  physical 
civilisation  in  the  ancient  States  of  those  early  days. 
Their  citizens,  when  not  employed  in  cutting  each  other's 
throats,  enjoyed  a  reasonable  security  of  life  and  pro- 
perty. They  lived  in  well-built  houses  ;  they  dressed  in 
silk  or  homespun ;  they  wore  shoes  of  leather ;  they 
carried  umbrellas ;  they  sat  on  chairs  and  used  tables  ; 
they  rode  in  carts  and  chariots ;  they  travelled  by  boat ; 
and  they  ate  their  food  off  plates  and  dishes  of  pottery, 
coarse  perhaps,  yet  still  superior  to  the  wooden  trencher 
common  not  so  very  long  ago  in  Europe.  They  mea- 
sured time  by  the  sundial,  and  in  the  Golden  Age  they 
had  the  two  famous  calendar  trees,  representations  of 
which  have  come  down  to  us  in  sculpture,  dating  from 
about  A.D.  1 50.  One  of  these  trees  put  forth  a  leaf  every 
day  for  fifteen  days,  after  which  a  leaf  fell  off  daily  for 
fifteen  more  days.  The  other  put  forth  a  leaf  once  a 
month  for  half  a  year,  after  which  a  leaf  fell  off  monthly 
for  a  similar  period.  With  these  trees  growing  in  the 
courtyard,  it  was  possible  to  say  at  a  glance  what  was 
the  day  of  the  month,  and  what  was  the  month  of  the 
year.  But  civilisation  proved  unfavourable  to  their 
growth,  and  the  species  became  extinct. 

In  the  sixth  century  B.C.  the  Chinese  were  also  in  pos- 
session of  a  written  language,  fully  adequate  to  the  most 
varied  expression  of  human  thought,  and  indeed  almost 
identical  with  their  present  script,  allowing,  among  other 
things,  for  certain  modifications  of  form  brought  about 
by  the  substitution  of  paper  and  a  camel's-hair  brush  for 


6  CHINESE   LITERATURE 

the  bamboo  tablet  and  stylus  of  old.  The  actual  stages 
by  which  that  point  was  reached  are  so  far  unknown  to 
us.  China  has  her  Cadmus  in  the  person  of  a  prehistoric 
individual  named  Ts'ang  Chieh,  who  is  said  to  have  had 
four  eyes,  and  to  have  taken  the  idea  of  a  written  lan- 
guage from  the  markings  of  birds'  claws  upon  the  sand. 
Upon  the  achievement  of  his  task  the  sky  rained  grain 
and  evil  spirits  mourned  by  night.  Previous  to  this 
mankind  had  no  other  system  than  rude  methods  of 
knotting  cords  and  notching  sticks  for  noting  events  or 
communicating  with  one  another  at  a  distance. 

As  to  the  origin  of  the  written  language  of  China, 
invention  is  altogether  out  of  the  question.  It  seems 
probable  that  in  prehistoric  ages,  the  Chinese,  like  other 
peoples,  began  to  make  rude  pictures  of  the  sun,  moon, 
and  stars,  of  man  himself,  of  trees,  of  fire,  of  rain,  and 
they  appear  to  have  followed  these  up  by  ideograms  of 
various  kinds.  How  far  they  went  in  this  direction  we 
can  only  surmise.  There  are  comparatively  few  obvi- 
ously pictorial  characters  and  ideograms  to  be  found 
even  in  the  script  of  two  thousand  years  ago ;  but  in- 
vestigations carried  on  for  many  years  by  Mr.  L.  C. 
Hopkins,  H.M.  Consul,  Chefoo,  and  now  approaching 
completion,  point  more  and  more  to  the  fact  that  the 
written  language  will  some  day  be  recognised  as  syste- 
matically developed  from  pictorial  symbols.  It  is,  at 
any  rate,  certain  that  at  a  very  early  date  subsequent 
to  the  legendary  period  of  "  knotted  cords "  and 
"  notches,"  while  the  picture-symbols  were  still  com- 
paratively few,  some  master-mind  reached  at  a  bound 
the  phonetic  principle,  from  which  point  the  rapid 
development  of  a  written  language  such  as  we  now 
find  would  be  an  easy  matter. 


CHAPTER  II 
CONFUCIUS— THE   FIVE   CLASSICS 

IN  B.C.  551  CONFUCIUS  was  born.  He  may  be  regarded 
as  the  founder  of  Chinese  literature.  During  his  years 
of  office  as  a  Government  servant  and  his  years  of 
teaching  and  wandering  as  an  exile,  he  found  time  to 
rescue  for  posterity  certain  valuable  literary  fragments 
of  great  antiquity,  and  to  produce  at  least  one  original 
work  of  his  own.  It  is  impossible  to  assert  that  before 
his  time  there  was  anything  in  the  sense  of  what  we 
understand  by  the  term  general  literature.  The  written 
language  appears  to  have  been  used  chiefly  for  purposes 
of  administration.  Many  utterances,  however,  of  early, 
not  to  say  legendary,  rulers  had  been  committed  to 
writing  at  one  time  or  another,  and  such  of  these  as 
were  still  extant  were  diligently  collected  and  edited  by 
Confucius,  forming  what  is  now  known  as  the  Shu  Ching 
or  Book  of  History.  The  documents  of  which  this  work 
is  composed  are  said  to  have  been  originally  one 
hundred  in  all,  and  they  cover  a  period  extending 
from  the  twenty-fourth  to  the  eighth  century  B.C.  They 
give  us  glimpses  of  an  age  earlier  than  that  of  Confucius, 
if  not  actually  so  early  as  is  claimed.  The  first  two,  for 
instance,  refer  to  the  Emperors  Yao  and  Shun,  whose 
reigns,  extending  from  B.C.  2357  to  2205,  are  regarded 
as  the  Golden  Age  of  China.  We  read  how  the  former 


8  CHINESE   LITERATURE 

monarch  "united  the  various  parts  of  his  domain  in 
bonds  of  peace,  so  that  concord  reigned  among  the 
black-haired  people."  He  abdicated  in  favour  of  Shun, 
who  is  described  as  being  profoundly  wise,  intelligent, 
and  sincere.  We  are  further  told  that  Shun  was  chosen 
because  of  his  great  filial  piety,  which  enabled  him  to 
live  in  harmony  with  an  unprincipled  father,  a  shifty 
stepmother,  and  an  arrogant  half-brother,  and,  moreover, 
to  effect  by  his  example  a  comparative  reformation  of 
their  several  characters. 

We  next  come  to  a  very  famous  personage,  who 
founded  the  Hsia  dynasty  in  B.C.  2205,  and  is  known  as 
the  Great  Yii.  It  was  he  who,  during  the  reign  of  the 
Emperor  Shun,  successfully  coped  with  a  devastating 
flood,  which  has  been  loosely  identified  with  the  Noachic 
Deluge,  and  in  reference  to  which  it  was  said  in  the 
Tso  Chuan,  "  How  grand  was  the  achievement  of  Yii, 
how  far-reaching  his  glorious  energy  !  But  for  Yii  we 
should  all  have  been  fishes."  The  following  is  his  own 
account  (Legge's  translation)  : — 

"  The  inundating  waters  seemed  to  assail  the  heavens, 
and  in  their  vast  extent  embraced  the  mountains  and 
overtopped  the  hills,  so  that  people  were  bewildered  and 
overwhelmed.  I  mounted  my  four  conveyances  (carts, 
boats,  sledges,  and  spiked  shoes),  and  all  along  the  hills 
hewed  down  the  woods,  at  the  same  time,  along  with 
Yi,  showing  the  multitudes  how  to  get  flesh  to  eat.  I 
opened  passages  for  the  streams  throughout  the  nine 
provinces,  and  conducted  them  to  the  sea.  I  deepened 
the  channels  and  canals,  and  conducted  them  to  the 
streams,  at  the  same  time,  along  with  Chi,  sowing  grain, 
and  showing  the  multitudes  how  to  procure  the  food 
of  toil  in  addition  to  flesh  meat.  I  urged  them  further 


BOOK  OF   HISTORY  9 

to  exchange  what  they  had  for  what  they  had  not,  and 
to  dispose  of  their  accumulated  stores.  In  this  way  all 
the  people  got  grain  to  eat,  and  all  the  States  began  to 
come  under  good  rule." 

A  small  portion  of  the  Book  of  History  is  in  verse : — 

"  The  people  should  be  cherished, 
And  should  not  be  downtrodden. 
The  people  are  the  root  of  a  country. 
And  if  the  root  is  firm,  the  country  will  be  tranquil. 

The  palace  a  wild  for  lust, 

The  country  a  wild  for  hunting, 
Rich  wine,  seductive  music, 
Lofty  roofs,  carved  walls, — 
Given  any  one  of  these, 
And  the  result  can  only  be  ruin" 

From  the  date  of  the  foundation  of  the  Hsia  dynasty 
the  throne  of  the  empire  was  transmitted  from  father  to 
son,  and  there  were  no  more  abdications  in  favour  of 
virtuous  sages.  The  fourth  division  of  the  Book  of 
History  deals  with  the  decadence  of  the  Hsia  rulers  and 
their  final  displacement  in  B.C.  1766  by  T'ang  the  Com- 
pleter,  founder  of  the  Shang  dynasty.  By  B.C.  1 122,  the 
Shang  sovereigns  had  similarly  lapsed  from  the  kingly 
qualities  of  their  founder  to  even  a  lower  level  of  degra- 
dation and  vice.  Then  arose  one  of  the  purest  and  most 
venerated  heroes  of  Chinese  history,  popularly  known  by 
his  canonisation  as  W6n  Wang.  He  was  hereditary  ruler 
of  a  principality  in  the  modern  province  of  Shensi,  and  in 
B.C.  1144  he  was  denounced  as  dangerous  to  the  throne. 
He  was  seized  and  thrown  into  prison,  where  he  passed 
two  years,  occupying  himself  with  the  Book  of  Changes, 
to  which  we  shall  presently  return.  At  length  the 
Emperor,  yielding  to  the  entreaties  of  the  people,  backed 
up  by  the  present  of  a  beautiful  concubine  and  some 


10  CHINESE   LITERATURE 

fine  horses,  set  him  at  liberty  and  commissioned  him 
to  make  war  upon  the  frontier  tribes.  To  his  dying  day 
he  never  ceased  to  remonstrate  against  the  cruelty  and 
corruption  of  the  age,  and  his  name  is  still  regarded 
as  one  of  the  most  glorious  in  the  annals  of  the  empire. 
It  was  reserved  for  his  son,  known  as  Wu  Wang,  to 
overthrow  the  Shang  dynasty  and  mount  the  throne  as 
first  sovereign  of  the  Chou  dynasty,  which  was  to  last 
for  eight  centuries  to  come.  The  following  is  a  speech 
by  the  latter  before  a  great  assembly  of  nobles  who  were 
siding  against  the  House  of  Shang.  It  is  preserved 
among  others  in  the  Book  of  History,  and  is  assigned 
to  the  year  B.C.  1133  (Legge's  translation): — 

"  Heaven  and  Earth  are  the  parents  of  all  creatures ; 
and  of  all  creatures  man  is  the  most  highly  endowed. 
The  sincere,  intelligent,  and  perspicacious  among  men 
becomes  the  great  sovereign,  and  the  great  sovereign 
is  the  parent  of  the  people.  But  now,  Shou,  the  king 
of  Shang,  does  not  reverence  Heaven  above,  and  inflicts 
calamities  on  the  people  below.  He  has  been  aban- 
doned to  drunkenness,  and  reckless  in  lust.  He  has 
dared  to  exercise  cruel  oppression.  Along  with  criminals 
he  has  punished  all  their  relatives.  He  has  put  men 
into  office  on  the  hereditary  principle.  He  has  made 
it  his  pursuit  to  have  palaces,  towers,  pavilions,  em- 
bankments, ponds,  and  all  other  extravagances,  to  the 
most  painful  injury  of  you,  the  myriad  people.  He  has 
burned  and  roasted  the  loyal  and  good.  He  has  ripped 
up  pregnant  women.  Great  Heaven  was  moved  with 
indignation,  and  charged  my  deceased  father,  W6n, 
reverently  to  display  its  majesty ;  but  he  died  before 
the  work  was  completed. 

"  On  this  account  I,  Fa,  who  am  but  a  little  child,  have, 


BOOK   OF   HISTORY  II 

by  means  of  you,  the  hereditary  rulers  of  my  friendly 
States,  contemplated  the  government  of  Shang  ;  but 
Shou  has  no  repentant  heart.  He  abides  squatting  on 
his  heels,  not  serving  God  or  the  spirits  of  heaven  and 
earth,  neglecting  also  the  temple  of  his  ancestors,  and 
not  sacrificing  in  it.  The  victims  and  the  vessels  of 
millet  all  become  the  prey  of  wicked  robbers ;  and  still 
he  says,  '  The  people  are  mine  :  the  decree  is  mine,' 
never  trying  to  correct  his  contemptuous  mind.  Now 
Heaven,  to  protect  the  inferior  people,  made  for  them 
rulers,  and  made  for  them  instructors,  that  they  might 
be  able  to  be  aiding  to  God,  and  secure  the  tranquillity 
of  the  four  quarters  of  the  empire.  In  regard  to  who 
are  criminals  and  who  are  not,  how  dare  I  give  any 
allowance  to  my  own  wishes  ? 

"  '  Where  the  strength  is  the  same,  measure  the  virtue 
of  the  parties  ;  where  the  virtue  is  the  same,  measure 
their  righteousness.'  Shou  has  hundreds  of  thousands 
and  myriads  of  ministers,  but  they  have  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands and  myriads  of  minds  ;  I  have  three  thousand  min- 
isters, but  they  have  one  mind.  The  iniquity  of  Shang 
is  full.  Heaven  gives  command  to  destroy  it.  If  I  did 
not  comply  with  Heaven,  my  iniquity  would  be  as  great. 

"  I,  who  am  a  little  child,  early  and  late  am  filled  with 
apprehensions.  I  have  received  charge  from  my  de- 
ceased father,  Wen  ;  I  have  offered  special  sacrifice  to 
God  ;  I  have  performed  the  due  services  to  the  great 
Earth  ;  and  I  lead  the  multitude  of  you  to  execute  the 
punishment  appointed  by  Heaven.  Heaven  compas- 
sionates the  people.  What  the  people  desire,  Heaven 
will  be  found  to  give  effect  to.  Do  you  aid  me,  the  one 
man,  to  cleanse  for  ever  all  within  the  four  seas.  Now 
is  the  time ! — it  may  not  be  lost." 


12  CHINESE   LITERATURE 

Two  of  the  documents  which  form  the  Book  of  His- 
tory are  directed  against  luxury  and  drunkenness,  to 
both  of  which  the  people  seemed  likely  to  give  way 
even  within  measurable  distance  of  the  death  of  Wen 
Wang.  The  latter  had  enacted  that  wine  (that  is  to 
say,  ardent  spirits  distilled  from  rice)  should  only  be 
used  on  sacrificial  occasions,  and  then  under  strict 
supervision  ;  and  it  is  laid  down,  almost  as  a  general 
principle,  that  all  national  misfortunes,  culminating  in 
the  downfall  of  a  dynasty,  may  be  safely  ascribed  to 
the  abuse  of  wine. 

The  Shih  Ching,  or  Book  of  Odes,  is  another  work  for 
the  preservation  of  which  we  are  indebted  to  Confucius. 
It  consists  of  a  collection  of  rhymed  ballads  in  various 
metres,  usually  four  words  to  the  line,  composed  be- 
tween the  reign  of  the  Great  Yii  and  the  beginning  of 
the  sixth  century  B.C.  These,  which  now  number  305, 
are  popularly  known  as  the  "  Three  Hundred,"  and  are 
said  by  some  to  have  been  selected  by  Confucius  from 
no  less  than  3000  pieces.  They  are  arranged  under  four 
heads,  as  follows  : — (a)  Ballads  commonly  sung  by  the 
people  in  the  various  feudal  States  and  forwarded 
periodically  by  the  nobles  to  their  suzerain,  the  Son  of 
Heaven.  The  ballads  were  then  submitted  to  the 
Imperial  Musicians,  who  were  able  to  judge  from  the 
nature  of  such  compositions  what  would  be  the  manners 
and  customs  prevailing  in  each  State,  and  to  advise  the 
suzerain  accordingly  as  to  the  good  or  evil  administra- 
tion of  each  of  his  vassal  rulers.  (£)  Odes  sung  at 
ordinary  entertainments  given  by  the  suzerain,  (c)  Odes 
sung  on  grand  occasions  when  the  feudal  nobles  were 
gathered  together,  (d)  Panegyrics  and  sacrificial  odes. 


THE   ODES  13 

Confucius  himself  attached  the  utmost  importance  to 
his  labours  in  this  direction.  "  Have  you  learned  the 
Odes?"  he  inquired  upon  one  occasion  of  his  son; 
and  on  receiving  an  answer  in  the  negative,  immediately 
told  the  youth  that  until  he  did  so  he  would  be  unfit  for 
the  society  of  intellectual  men.  Confucius  may  indeed 
be  said  to  have  anticipated  the  apophthegm  attributed 
by  Fletcher  of  Saltoun  to  a  "  very  wise  man,"  namely, 
that  he  who  should  be  allowed  to  make  a  nation's" 
"  ballads  need  care  little  who  made  its  laws."  And  it 
was  probably  this  appreciation  by  Confucius  that  gave 
rise  to  an  extraordinary  literary  craze  in  reference  to 
these  Odes.  Early  commentators,  incapable  of  seeing 
the  simple  natural  beauties  of  the  poems,  which  have 
furnished  endless  household  words  and  a  large  stock 
of  phraseology  to  the  language  of  the  present  day,  and 
at  the  same  time  unable  to  ignore  the  deliberate  judg- 
ment of  the  Master,  set  to  work  to  read  into  country- 
side ditties  deep  moral  and  political  significations. 
Every  single  one  of  the  immortal  Three  Hundred  has 
thus  been  forced  to  yield  some  hidden  meaning  and 
point  an  appropriate  moral.  If  a  maiden  warns  her 
lover  not  to  be  too  rash — 

"  Don't  come  in,  sir,  please  ! 

Don't  break  my  willow-trees  ! 

Not  that  that  would  very  much  grieve  me  ; 
But  alack-a-day  !  what  would  my  parents  say  f 

And  love  you  as  I  may, 
I  cannot  bear  to  think  what  that  would  be," — 

commentators  promptly  discover  that  the  piece  refers 
to  a  feudal  noble  whose  brother  had  been  plotting 
against  him,  and  to  the  excuses  of  the  former  for  not 
visiting  the  latter  with  swift  and  exemplary  punishment. 


14  CHINESE   LITERATURE 

Another  independent  young  lady  may  say — 

"  If  you  will  love  me  dear,  my  lord, 
I'll  pick  up  my  skirts  and  cross  the  ford, 
But  if  from  your  heart  you  turn  me  out  .  .  . 

\Vell,  you're  not  the  only  man  about, 

You  silly,  silly,  silliest  lout !" — 

still  commentaries  are  not  wanting  to  show  that  these 
straightforward  words  express  the  wish  of  the  people  of 
a  certain  small  State  that  some  great  State  would  inter- 
vene and  put  an  end  to  an  existing  feud  in  the  ruling 
family.  Native  scholars  are,  of  course,  hide-bound  in 
the  traditions  of  commentators,  but  European  students 
will  do  well  to  seek  the  meaning  of  the  Odes  within  the 
compass  of  the  Odes  themselves. 

Possibly  the  very  introduction  of  these  absurdities  may 
have  helped  to  preserve  to  our  day  a  work  which  would 
otherwise  have  been  considered  too  trivial  to  merit  the 
attention  of  scholars.  Chinese  who  are  in  the  front  rank 
of  scholarship  know  it  by  heart,  and  each  separate  piece 
has  been  searchingly  examined,  until  the  force  of  exegesis 
can  no  farther  go.  There  is  one  famous  line  which 
runs,  according  to  the  accepted  commentary,  "  The 
muddiness  of  the  Ching  river  appears  from  the  (clear- 
ness of  the)  Wei  river."  In  1790  the  Emperor  Ch'ien 
Lung,  dissatisfied  with  this  interpretation,  sent  a  viceroy 
to  examine  the  rivers.  The  latter  reported  that  the 
Ching  was  really  clear  and  the  Wei  muddy,  so  that  the 
wording  of  the  line  must  mean  "  The  Ching  river  is 
made  muddy  by  the  Wei  river." 

The  following  is  a  specimen  of  one  of  the  longer  of 
the  Odes,  saddled,  like  all  the  rest,  with  an  impossible 
political  interpretation,  of  which  nothing  more  need  be 
said  : — 


THE  ODES  15 

You  seemed  a  guileless  youth  enough, 
Offering  for  silk  your  woven  stuff";  * 
But  silk  was  not  required  by  you  ; 
I  was  the  silk  you  had  in  view. 

With  you  I  crossed  the  ford,  and  while 

We  wandered  on  for  many  a  mile 

I  said)  '  I  do  not  wish  delay, 

But  friends  must  fix  our  -wedding-day.  .  .  • 

Oh,  do  not  let  my  words  give  pain, 

But  with  tke  autumn  come  again* 

"  And  then  I  used  to  watch  and  wait 
To  see  you  passing  through  the  gate  ; 
And  sometimes,  when  I  watched  in  vain, 
My  tears  would  flow  like  falling  rain; 
But  when  1  saw  my  darling  boy, 
I  laughed  and  cried  aloud  for  joy. 
The  fortune-tellers,  you  declared, 
Had  all  pronounced  us  duly  paired; 
'  Then  bring  a  carriage?  1  replied, 
' And  fll  away  to  be  your  bride? 

"  The  mulberry-leaf,  not  yet  undone 
By  autumn  chill,  shines  in  the  sun. 
O  tender  doi'e,  I  would  advise, 
Beware  the  fruit  that  tempts  thy  eyes  I 
O  maiden  fair,  not  yet  a  spouse, 
List  lightly  not  to  lovers'  vows  / 
A  man  may  do  this  wrong,  and  time 
Will  fling  its  shadow  der  his  crime; 
A  woman  who  has  lost  her  name 
Is  doomed  to  everlasting  shame. 

"  The  mulberry-tree  upon  the  ground 
Now  sheds  its  yellow  leaves  around. 
Three  years  have  slipped  away  from  me 
Since  first  I  shared  your  poverty  ; 
And  now  again,  alas  the  day  ! 
Back  through  the  ford  I  take  my  way. 

1  Supposed  to  have  been  stamped  pieces  of  linen,  used  as  a  circulating 
medium  before  the  invention  of  coins. 


1 6  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

My  heart  is  still  unchanged,  but  you 
Have  uttered  words  now  proved  untrue; 
And  you  have  left  me  to  deplore 
A  love  that  can  be  mine  no  more. 

*'  For  three  long  years  I  was  your  -wife, 
And  led  in  truth  a  toilsome  life; 
Early  to  rise  and  late  to  bed, 
Each  day  alike  passed  o'er  my  head. 
I  honestly  fulfilled  my  part, 
And  you — well,  you  have  broke  my  heart. 
The  truth  my  brothers  will  not  know, 
So  all  the  more  their  gibes  will  flow. 
I  grieve  in  silence  and  repine 
That  such  a  wretched  fate  is  mine. 

"  Ah,  hand  in  hand  to  face  old  age  / — 
Instead,  I  turn  a  bitter  page. 
O  for  the  river-banks  of  yore ; 

0  for  the  much-loved  marshy  shore  ; 
The  hours  of  girlhood,  with  my  hair 
Ungathered,  as  we  lingered  there. 

The  words  we  spoke,  that  seemed  so  true, 

1  little  thought  that  I  should  rue  j 
I  little  thought  the  vows  we  swore 
Would  some  day  bind  us  two  no  more" 

Many  of  the  Odes  deal  with  warfare,  and  with  the 
separation  of  wives  from  their  husbands ;  others,  with 
agriculture  and  with  the  chase,  with  marriage  and  feast- 
ing. The  ordinary  sorrows  of  life  are  fully  represented, 
and  to  these  may  be  added  frequent  complaints  against 
the  harshness  of  officials,  one  speaker  going  so  far  as 
to  wish  he  were  a  tree  without  consciousness,  without 
home,  and  without  family.  The  old-time  theme  of  "  eat, 
drink,  and  be  merry  "  is  brought  out  as  follows : — 

"  You  have  coats  and  robes, 
But  you  do  not  trail  them; 
You  have  chariots  and  horses, 
But  you  do  not  ride  in  them. 


THE  ODES  17 

By  and  by  you  will  die, 
And  another  will  enjoy  them. 

"  You  have  courtyards  and  halls, 
But  they  are  not  sprinkled  and  swept; 
You  have  bells  and  drums, 
But  they  are  not  struck. 
By  and  by  you  will  die, 
And  another  will  possess  them. 

a  You  have  wine  and  food; 
Why  not  play  daily  on  your  lute, 
That  you  may  enjoy  yourself  now 
And  lengthen  your  days  f 
By  and  by  you  will  die, 
And  another  will  take  your  place? 

The  Odes  are  especially  valuable  for  the  insight  they 
give  us  into  the  manners,  and  customs,  and  beliefs  of 
the  Chinese  before  the  age  of  Confucius.  How  far  back 
they  extend  it  is  quite  impossible  to  say.  An  eclipse 
of  the  sun,  "an  event  of  evil  omen,"  is  mentioned  in 
one  of  the  Odes  as  a  recent  occurrence  on  a  certain  day 
which  works  out  as  the  29th  August,  B.C.  775  ;  and  this 
eclipse  has  been  verified  for  that  date.  The  following 
lines  are  from  Legge's  rendering  of  this  Ode  : — 

"  The  sun  and  moon  announce  evil, 
Not  keeping  to  their  proper  paths. 

All  through  the  kingdom  there  is  no  proper  government, 
Because  the  good  are  not  employed. 
For  the  moon  to  be  eclipsed 
Is  but  an  ordinary  matter. 
Now  that  the  sun  has  been  eclipsed, 
How  bad  it  is .' " 

The  rainbow  was  regarded,  not  as  a  portent  of  evil, 
but  as  an  improper  combination  of  the  dual  forces  of 
nature, — 


1 8  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

"  There  is  a  rainbow  in  the  east, 
And  no  one  dares  point  at  it" — 

and  is  applied  figuratively  to  women  who  form  improper 
connections. 

The  position  of  women  generally  seems  to  have  been 
very  much  what  it  is  at  the  present  day.  In  an  Ode 
which  describes  the  completion  of  a  palace  for  one  of  the 
ancient  princes,  we  are  conducted  through  the  rooms, — 

"  Here  will  he  live,  here  will  he  sit, 
Here  will  he  laugh,  here  will  he  talk" — 

until  we  come  to  the  bedchamber,  where  he  will  awake, 
and  call  upon  the  chief  diviner  to  interpret  his  dream 
of  bears  and  serpents.  The  interpretation  (Legge)  is 
as  follows : — 

"  Sons  shall  be  born  to  him  : — 
They  will  be  put  to  sleep  on  couches ; 
They  will  be  clothed  in  robes ; 
They  will  have  sceptres  to  play  with; 
Their  cry  will  be  loud. 

They  will  be  resplendent  with  red  knee-covers, 
The  future  princes  of  the  land. 

"  Daughters  shall  be  born  to  him  : — 
They  will  be  put  to  sleep  on  the  ground; 
They  will  be  clothed  with  wrappers; 
They  will  have  tiles  to  play  with. 
It  will  be  theirs  neither  to  do  wrong  nor  to  do  good. 
Only  about  the  spirits  and  the  food  will  they  have  to  think. 
And  to  cause  no  sorrow  to  their  parents? 

The  distinction  thus  drawn  is  severe  enough,  and  it 
is  quite  unnecessary  to  make  a  comparison,  as  some 
writers  on  China  have  done,  between  the  tile  and  the 
sceptre,  as  though  the  former  were  but  a  dirty  potsherd, 
good  enough  for  a  girl.  A  tile  was  used  in  the  early 


THE  ODES  19 

ages  as  a  weight  for  the  spindle,  and  is  here  used  merely 
to  indicate  the  direction  which  a  girl's  activities  should 
take. 

Women  are  further  roughly  handled  in  an  Ode  which 
traces  the  prevailing  misgovernment  to  their  interference 
in  affairs  of  State  and  in  matters  which  do  not  lie  within 
their  province  : — 

"  A  clever  man  builds  a  city, 
A  clever  -woman  lays  one  low; 
With  all  her  qualifications  ^  that  clever  woman 
Is  but  an  ill-omened  bird. 
A  woman  with  a  long  tongue 
Is  a  flight  of  steps  leading  to  calamity; 
For  disorder  does  not  come  from  heaven^ 
But  is  brought  about  by  women. 
Among  those  who  cannot  be  trained  or  taught 
Are  women  and  eunuchs? 

About  seventy  kinds  of  plants  are  mentioned  in  the 
Odes,  including  the  bamboo,  barley,  beans,  convolvulus, 
dodder,  dolichos,  hemp,  indigo,  liquorice,  melon,  millet, 
peony,  pepper,  plantain,  scallions,  sorrel,  sowthistle, 
tribulus,  and  wheat ;  about  thirty  kinds  of  trees,  in- 
cluding the  cedar,  cherry,  chestnut,  date,  hazel,  medlar, 
mulberry,  oak,  peach,  pear,  plum,  and  willow  ;  about 
thirty  kinds  of  animals,  including  the  antelope,  badger, 
bear,  boar,  elephant,  fox,  leopard,  monkey,  rat,  rhino- 
ceros, tiger,  and  wolf ;  about  thirty  kinds  of  birds, 
including  the  crane,  eagle,  egret,  magpie,  oriole,  swallow, 
and  wagtail ;  about  ten  kinds  of  fishes,  including  the 
barbel,  bream,  carp,  and  tench  ;  and  about  twenty  kinds 
of  insects,  including  the  ant,  cicada,  glow-worm,  locust, 
spider,  and  wasp. 

Among  the  musical  instruments  of  the  Odes  are  found 
the  flute,  the  drum,  the  bell,  the  lute,  and  the  Pandaean 


20  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

pipes ;  among  the  metals  are  gold  and  iron,  with  an 
indirect  allusion  to  silver  and  copper ;  and  among  the 
arms  and  munitions  of  war  are  bows  and  arrows,  spears, 
swords,  halberds,  armour,  grappling-hooks,  towers  on 
wheels  for  use  against  besieged  cities,  and  gags  for 
soldiers'  mouths,  to  prevent  them  talking  in  the  ranks  on 
the  occasion  of  night  attacks. 

The  idea  of  a  Supreme  Being  is  brought  out  very  fully 
in  the  Odes — 

"  Great  is  God, 
Ruling  in  majesty" 

Also, 

"  How  mighty  is  God, 
The  Ruler  of  mankind! 
How  terrible  is  His  majesty  /" 

He  is  apparently  in  the  form  of  man,  for  in  one  place  we 
read  of  His  footprint.  He  hates  the  oppression  of  great 
States,  although  in  another  passage  we  read — 

"  Behold  Almighty  God; 
Who  is  there  whom  He  hates  ?  " 

He  comforts  the  afflicted.  He  is  free  from  error.  His 
"Way"  is  hard  to  follow.  He  is  offended  by  sin.  He 
can  be  appeased  by  sacrifice  : — 

"  We  fill  the  sacrificial  vessels  with  offerings, 
Both  the  vessels  of  wood,  and  those  of  earthenware. 
Then  when  the  fragrance  is  borne  on  high, 
God  smells  the  savour  and  is  pleased." 

One  more  quotation,  which,  in  deference  to  space 
limits,  must  be  the  last,  exhibits  the  husbandman  of  early 
China  in  a  very  pleasing  light  :— 

"  The  clouds  form  in  dense  masses, 
And  the  rainfalls  softly  down. 
Oh,  may  it  first  water  the  public  lands, 
And  then  come  to  our  private  fields  / 


BOOK  OF  CHANGES  JI 

Here  shall  some  corn  be  left  standing^ 

Here  some  sheaves  unbound; 

Here  some  handfuls  shall  be  dropped, 

And  there  some  neglected  ears; 

These  are  for  the  benefit  of  the  widow" 

The  next  of  the  pre-Confucian  works,  and  possibly  the 
oldest  of  all,  is  the  famous  /  Ching,  or  Book  of  Changes. 
It  is  ascribed  to  WEN  WANG,  the  virtual  founder  of  the 
Chou  dynasty,  whose  son,  Wu  WANG,  became  the  first 
sovereign  of  a  long  line,  extending  from  B.C.  1122  to 
B.C.  249.  It  contains  a  fanciful  system  of  philosophy, 
deduced  originally  from  Eight  Diagrams  consisting  of 
triplet  combinations  or  arrangements  of  a  line  and  a 
divided  line,  either  one  or  other  of  which  is  necessarily 
repeated  twice,  and  in  two  cases  three  times,  in  the  same 
combination.  Thus  there  may  be  three  lines  ,  or 

three  divided  lines  EEE  EEr,  a  divided  line  above  or  below 
two  lines  ,  a  divided  line  between  two  lines 

—  — ,  and  so  on,  eight  in  all.  These  so-called  diagrams 
are  said  to  have  been  invented  two  thousand  years  and 
more  before  Christ  by  the  monarch  Fu  Hsi,  who  copied 
them  from  the  back  of  a  tortoise.  He  subsequently 
increased  the  above  simple  combinations  to  sixty-four 
double  ones,  on  the  permutations  of  which  are  based  the 
philosophical  speculations  of  the  Book  of  Changes.  Each 
diagram  represents  some  power  in  nature,  either  active 
or  passive,  such  as  fire,  water,  thunder,  earth,  and  so  on. 

The  text  consists  of  sixty-four  short  essays,  enig- 
matically and  symbolically  expressed,  on  important 
themes,  mostly  of  a  moral,  social,  and  political  character, 
and  based  upon  the  same  number  of  lineal  figures,  each 
made  up  of  six  lines,  some  of  which  are  whole  and  the 
others  divided.  The  text  is  followed  by  commentaries, 


22  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

called  the  Ten  Wings,  probably  of  a  later  date  and 
commonly  ascribed  to  Confucius,  who  declared  that 
were  a  hundred  years  added  to  his  life  he  would  devote 
fifty  of  them  to  a  study  of  the  I  Ching. 

The  following  is  a  specimen  (Legge's  translation)  : — 


"  TV*/.  This  suggests  the  idea  of  one  tread- 


ing on  the  tail  of  a  tiger,  which  does  not  bite  him. 
There  will  be  progress  and  success. 

"  i.  The  first  line,  undivided,  shows  its  subject  tread- 
ing his  accustomed  path.  If  he  go  forward,  there  will 
be  no  error. 

"  2.  The  second  line,  undivided,  shows  its  subject  tread- 
ing the  path  that  is  level  and  easy ; — a  quiet  and 
solitary  man,  to  whom,  if  he  be  firm  and  correct,  there 
will  be  good  fortune. 

"  3.  The  third  line,  divided,  shows  a  one-eyed  man  who 
thinks  he  can  see  ;  a  lame  man  who  thinks  he  can  walk 
well ;  one  who  treads  on  the  tail  of  a  tiger  and  is  bitten. 
All  this  indicates  ill-fortune.  We  have  a  mere  bravo 
acting  the  part  of  a  great  ruler. 

"4.  The  fourth  line,  undivided,  shows  its  subject  tread- 
ing on  the  tail  of  a  tiger.  He  becomes  full  of  apprehen- 
sive caution,  and  in  the  end  there  will  be  good  fortune. 

"5.  The  fifth  line,  undivided,  shows  the  resolute  tread 
of  its  subject.  Though  he  be  firm  and  correct,  there 
will  be  peril. 

"6.  The  sixth  line,  undivided,  tells  us  to  look  at  the 
whole  course  that  is  trodden,  and  examine  the  presage 
which  that  gives.  If  it  be  complete  and  without  failure, 
there  will  be  great  good  fortune. 

"  Wing. — In  this  hexagram  we  have  the  symbol  of 
weakness  treading  on  that  of  strength. 


BOOK  OF  RITES  23 

"  The  lower  trigram  indicates  pleasure  and  satisfaction, 
and  responds  to  the  upper  indicating  strength.  Hence 
it  is  said,  '  He  treads  on  the  tail  of  a  tiger,  which  does 
not  bite  him  ;  there  will  be  progress  and  success.' 

"The  fifth  line  is  strong,  in  the  centre,  and  in  its  correct 
place.  Its  subject  occupies  the  God-given  position,  and 
falls  into  no  distress  or  failure ; — his  action  will  be 
brilliant." 

As  may  be  readily  inferred  from  the  above  extract, 
no  one  really  knows  what  is  meant  by  the  apparent 
gibberish  of  the  Book  of  Changes.  This  is  freely  ad- 
mitted by  all  learned  Chinese,  who  nevertheless  hold 
tenaciously  to  the  belief  that  important  lessons  could  be 
derived  from  its  pages  if  we  only  had  the  wit  to  under- 
stand them.  Foreigners  have  held  various  theories  on 
the  subject.  Dr.  Legge  declared  that  he  had  found  the 
key,  with  the  result  already  shown.  The  late  Terrien 
de  la  Couperie  took  a  bolder  flight,  unaccompanied  by 
any  native  commentator,  and  discovered  in  this  cher- 
ished volume  a  vocabulary  of  the  language  of  the  Bak 
tribes.  A  third  writer  regards  it  as  a  calendar  of  the 
lunar  year,  and  so  forth. 

The  Li  Chi,  or  Book  of  Rites,  seems  to  have  been  a 
compilation  by  two  cousins,  known  as  the  Elder  and 
the  Younger  TAI,  who  flourished  in  the  2nd  and  ist 
centuries  B.C.  From  existing  documents,  said  to  have 
emanated  from  Confucius  and  his  disciples,  the  Elder 
Tai  prepared  a  work  in  85  sections  on  what  may  be 
roughly  called  social  rites.  The  Younger  Tai  reduced 
these  to  46  sections.  Later  scholars,  such  as  Ma  Jung 
and  Cheng  Hsiian,  left  their  mark  upon  the  work,  and 
it  was  not  until  near  the  close  of  the  2nd  century  A.D. 


24  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

that  finality  in  this  direction  was  achieved.  It  then 
became  known  as  a  Chi  =  Record,  not  as  a  Ching  = 
Text,  the  latter  term  being  reserved  by  the  orthodox 
solely  for  such  books  as  have  reached  us  direct  from 
the  hands  of  Confucius.  The  following  is  an  extract 
(Legge's  translation)  : — 

Confucius  said  :  "  Formerly,  along  with  Lao  Tan,  I 
was  assisting  at  a  burial  in  the  village  of  Hsiang,  and 
when  we  had  got  to  the  path  the  sun  was  eclipsed. 
Lao  Tan  said  to  me,  'Ch'iu,  let  the  bier  be  stopped 
on  the  left  of  the  road ;  and  then  let  us  wail  and  wait 
till  the  eclipse  pass  away.  When  it  is  light  again  we 
will  proceed.'  He  said  that  this  was  the  rule.  When 
we  had  returned  and  completed  the  burial,  I  said  to 
him,  '  In  the  progress  of  a  bier  there  should  be  no  re- 
turning. When  there  is  an  eclipse  of  the  sun,  we  do 
not  know  whether  it  will  pass  away  quickly  or  not ; 
would  it  not  have  been  better  to  go  on  ? '  Lao  Tan 
said,  'When  the  prince  of  a  state  is  going  to  the  court 
of  the  Son  of  Heaven,  he  travels  while  he  can  see  the 
sun.  At  sundown  he  halts  and  presents  his  offerings 
(to  the  spirit  of  the  way).  When  a  great  officer  is  on 
a  mission,  he  travels  while  he  can  see  the  sun,  and  at 
sundown  he  halts.  Now  a  bier  does  not  set  forth  in 
the  early  morning,  nor  does  it  rest  anywhere  at  night ; 
but  those  who  travel  by  starlight  are  only  criminals 
and  those  who  are  hastening  to  the  funeral  rites  of  a 
parent.' " 

Other  specimens  will  be  found  in  Chapters  iii.  and  iv. 

Until  the  time  of  the  Ming  dynasty,  A.D.  1368,  an- 
other and  a  much  older  work,  known  as  the  Chou  Li, 
or  Rites  of  the  Chou  dynasty,  and  dealing  more  with 


THE  SPRING  AND  AUTUMN  25 

constitutional  matters,  was  always  coupled  with  the 
Li  Chi,  and  formed  one  of  the  then  recognised  Six 
Classics.  There  is  still  a  third  work  of  the  same  class, 
and  also  of  considerable  antiquity,  called  the  /  Li.  Its 
contents  treat  mostly  of  the  ceremonial  observances  of 
everyday  life. 

We  now  come  to  the  last  of  the  Five  Classics  as  at 
present  constituted,  the  CJiun  CKiu,  or  Spring  and 
Autumn  Annals.  This  is  a  chronological  record  of  the 
chief  events  in  the  State  of  Lu  between  the  years  B.C. 
722-484,  and  is  generally  regarded  as  the  work  of 
Confucius,  whose  native  State  was  Lu.  The  entries  are 
of  the  briefest,  and  comprise  notices  of  incursions, 
victories,  defeats,  deaths,  murders,  treaties,  and  natural 
phenomena. 

The  following  are  a  few  illustrative  extracts  : — 

"  In  the  yth  year  of  Duke  Chao,  in  spring,  the 
Northern  Yen  State  made  peace  with  the  Ch'i  State. 

"  In  the  3rd  month  the  Duke  visited  the  Ch'u  State. 

"  In  summer,  on  the  chia  shen  day  of  the  4th  month 
(March  nth,  B.C.  594),  the  sun  was  eclipsed. 

"  In  the  7th  year  of  Duke  Chuang  (B.C.  685),  in 
summer,  in  the  4th  moon,  at  midnight,  there  was  a 
shower  of  stars  like  rain." 

The  Spring  and  Autumn  owes  its  name  to  the  old 
custom  of  prefixing  to  each  entry  the  year,  month,  day, 
and  season  when  the  event  recorded  took  place  ;  spring, 
as  a  commentator  explains,  including  summer,  and 
autumn  winter.  It  was  the  work  which  Confucius 
singled  out  as  that  one  by  which  men  would  know  and 
commend  him,  and  Mencius  considered  it  quite  as  im- 
portant an  achievement  as  the  draining  of  the  empire  by 


26  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

the  Great  Yii.  The  latter  said,  "Confucius  completed 
the  Spring  and  Autumn,  and  rebellious  ministers  and 
bad  sons  were  struck  with  terror."  Consequently,  just 
as  in  the  case  of  the  Odes,  Dative  wits  set  to  work  to 
read  into  the  bald  text  all  manner  of  hidden  meanings, 
each  entry  being  supposed  to  contain  approval  or  con- 
demnation, their  efforts  resulting  in  what  is  now  known 
as  the  praise-and-blame  theory.  The  critics  of  the  Han 
dynasty  even  went  so  far  as  to  declare  the  very  title 
elliptical  for  "  praise  life-giving  like  spring,  and  blame 
life-withering  like  autumn." 

Such  is  the  Ctiun  CKiu ;  and  if  that  were  all,  it  is 
difficult  to  say  how  the  boast  of  Confucius  could 
ever  have  been  fulfilled.  But  it  is  not  all ;  there  is  a 
saving  clause.  For  bound  up,  so  to  speak,  with  the 
Spring  and  Autumn,  and  forming  as  it  were  an  integral 
part  of  the  work,  is  a  commentary  known  as  the  Tso 
Chuan  or  Tso's  Commentary.  Of  the  writer  himself, 
who  has  been  canonised  as  the  Father  of  Prose,  and 
to  whose  pen  has  also  been  attributed  the  Kuo  Yu  or 
Episodes  of  the  States,  next  to  nothing  is  known,  except 
that  he  was  a  disciple  of  Confucius  ;  but  his  glowing 
narrative  remains,  and  is  likely  to  continue  to  remain, 
one  of  the  most  precious  heirlooms  of  the  Chinese 
people. 

What  Tso  did  was  this.  He  took  the  dry  bones  of 
these  annals  and  clothed  them  with  life  and  reality  by 
adding  a  more  or  less  complete  setting  to  each  of  the 
events  recorded.  He  describes  the  loves  and  hates  of 
the  heroes,  their  battles,  their  treaties,  their  feastings, 
and  their  deaths,  in  a  style  which  is  always  effective, 
and  often  approaches  to  grandeur.  Circumstances  of 
apparently  the  most  trivial  character  are  expanded  into 


THE  TSO  CHUAN  27 

interesting  episodes,  and  every  now  and  again  some 
quaint  conceit  or  scrap  of  proverbial  literature  is  thrown 
in  to  give  a  passing  flavour  of  its  own.  Under  the  2ist 
year  of  Duke  Hsi,  the  Spring  and  Autumn  has  the 
following  exiguous  entry  : — 

"  In  summer  there  was  great  drought." 

To  this  the  Tso  Ckuan  adds — 

"  In  consequence  of  the  drought  the  Duke  wished  to 
burn  a  witch.  One  of  his  officers,  however,  said  to  him, 
'That  will  not  affect  the  drought.  Rather  repair  your 
city  walls  and  ramparts  ;  eat  less,  and  curtail  your  ex- 
penditure ;  practise  strict  economy,  and  urge  the  people 
to  help  one  another.  That  is  the  essential ;  what  have 
witches  to  do  in  the  matter  ?  If  God  wishes  her  to  be 
slain,  it  would  have  been  better  not  to  allow  her  to  be 
born.  If  she  can  cause  a  drought,  burning  her  will  only 
make  things  worse.'  The  Duke  took  this  advice,  and 
during  that  year,  although  there  was  famine,  it  was  not 
very  severe." 

Under  the  i2th  year  of  Duke  Hsiian  the  Spring  and 
Autumn  says — 

"  In  spring  the  ruler  of  the  Ch'u  State  besieged  the 
capital  of  the  Cheng  State." 

Thereupon  the  Tso  Chuan  adds  a  long  account  of  the 
whole  business,  from  which  the  following  typical  para- 
graph is  extracted  : — 

"  In  the  rout  which  followed,  a  war-chariot  of  the  Chin 
State  stuck  in  a  deep  rut  and  could  not  get  on.  There- 
upon a  man  of  the  Ch'u  State  advised  the  charioteer  to 
take  out  the  stand  for  arms.  This  eased  it  a  little,  but 
again  the  horses  turned  round.  The  man  then  advised 
that  the  flagstaff  should  be  taken  out  and  used  as  a  lever, 
and  at  last  the  chariot  was  extricated.  '  Ah/  said  the 


28  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

charioteer  to  the  man  of  Ch'u,  '  we  don't  know  so  much 
about  running  away  as  the  people  of  your  worthy 
State.' " 

The  Tso  Chuan  contains  several  interesting  passages 
on  music,  which  was  regarded  by  Confucius  as  an  im- 
portant factor  in  the  art  of  government,  recalling  the 
well-known  views  of  Plato  in  Book  III.  of  his  Republic. 
Apropos  of  disease,  we  read  that  "the  ancient  rulers 
regulated  all  things  by  music."  Also  that  "  the  superior 
man  will  not  listen  to  lascivious  or  seductive  airs  ; "  "  he 
addresses  himself  to  his  lute  in  order  to  regulate  his 
conduct,  and  not  to  delight  his  heart." 

When  the  rabid  old  anti-foreign  tutor  of  the  late 
Emperor  T'ung  Chih  was  denouncing  the  barbarians, 
and  expressing  a  kindly  desire  to  "  sleep  on  their  skins," 
he  was  quoting  the  phraseology  of  the  Tso  Chuan. 

One  hero,  on  going  into  battle,  told  his  friends  that  he 
should  only  hear  the  drum  beating  the  signal  to  advance, 
for  he  would  take  good  care  not  to  hear  the  gong  sound- 
ing the  retreat.  Another  made  each  of  his  men  carry 
into  battle  a  long  rope,  seeing  that  the  enemy  all  wore 
their  hair  short.  In  a  third  case,  where  some  men  in 
possession  of  boats  were  trying  to  prevent  others  from 
scrambling  in,  we  are  told  that  the  fingers  of  the  assail- 
ants were  chopped  off  in  such  large  numbers  that  they 
could  be  picked  up  in  double  handfuls. 

Many  maxims,  practical  and  unpractical,  are  to  be 
found  scattered  over  the  Tso  Chuan,  such  as,  "  One  day's 
leniency  to  an  enemy  entails  trouble  for  many  genera- 
tions ; "  "  Propriety  forbids  that  a  man  should  profit 
himself  at  the  expense  of  another  ; "  "  The  receiver  is 
as  bad  as  the  thief ; "  "  It  is  better  to  attack  than  to  be 
attacked." 


KU-LIANG  AND  RUNG- YANG  29 

When  the  French  fleet  returned  to  Shanghai  in  1885. 
after  being  repulsed  in  a  shore  attack  at  Tamsui,  a  local 
wit  at  once  adapted  a  verse  of  doggerel  found  in  the 
Tso  Chuan : — 

"  See  goggle-eyes  and  greedy-guts 
Has  left  his  shield  among  the  ruts ; 
Back  front  the  field,  back  front  the  field 
He's  brought  his  beard,  but  not  his  shield;" 

and  for  days  every  Chinaman  was  muttering  the  refrain— 

"  Yii  sat,  yu  sat 
CKi  chiafu  lai." 

There  are  two  other  commentaries  on  the  Spring  and 
Autumn,  similar,  but  generally  regarded  as  inferior, 
to  the  Tso  Chuan.  They  are  by  Ku-LlANG  and  KUNG- 
YANG,  both  of  the  fifth  century  B.C.  The  following  are 
specimens  (Legge's  translation,  omitting  unimportant 
details) : — 

Text. — "  In  spring,  in  the  king's  first  month,  the  first 
day  of  the  moon,  there  fell  stones  in  Sung — five  of  them. 
In  the  same  month,  six  fish-hawks  flew  backwards,  past 
the  capital  of  Sung. 

The  commentary  of  Ku-liang  The    commentary    of    Kung- 

says,  "  Why  does   the  text   first  yang  says,  "  How  is  it  that  the 

say     "there     fell,"     and      then  text  first  says  "there  fell,"  and 

"stones"?    There  was  the  fall-  then  " stones "? 

ing,  and  then  the  stones.  "  There  fell  stones  "  is  a  record 

In  "six  fish -hawks  flying  of  what  was  heard.  There  was 
backwards  past  the  capital  of  heard  a  noise  of  something  fall- 
Sung,"  the  number  is  put  first,  ing.  On  looking  at  what  had 
indicating  that  the  birds  were  fallen,  it  was  seen  to  be  stones, 
collected  together.  The  Ian-  On  examination  it  was  found 
guage  has  respect  to  the  seeing  there  were  five  of  them, 
of  the  eyes.  Why  does  the  text  say  "six," 

The  Master  said,  "Stones  are  and  then  "fish-hawks"? 


30  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

things  without  any  intelligence,          "  Six    fish  -  hawks    backwards 
and    fish -hawks    creatures    that      flew"  is  a  record  of  what  was 
have  a  little  intelligence.       The      seen.     When  they  looked  at  the 
stones,  having  no  intelligence,  are      objects,  there  were  six.     When 
mentioned   along  with   the  day      they  examined  them,  they  were 
when    they    fell,    and    the    fish-      fish  -  hawks.      When    they   exa- 
hawks,    having    a    little    intelli-      mined  them  leisurely,  they  were 
gence,  are  mentioned  along  with      flying  backwards, 
the  month  when  they  appeared. 
The    superior    man    (Confucius) 
even  in  regard  to  such  things  and 
creatures  records  nothing  rashly. 
His  expressions  about  stones  and 
fish-hawks  being  thus  exact,  how 
much  more  will  they  be  so  about 
men  1" 

Sometimes  these  commentaries  are  seriously  at  vari- 
ance with  that  of  Tso.  For  instance,  the  text  says  that 
in  B.C.  689  the  ruler  of  the  Chi  State  "made  a  great 
end  of  his  State."  Tso's  commentary  explains  the  words 
to  mean  that  for  various  urgent  reasons  the  ruler  abdi- 
cated. Kung-yang,  however,  takes  quite  a  different  view. 
He  explains  the  passage  in  the  sense  that  the  State  in 
question  was  utterly  destroyed,  the  population  being 
wiped  out  by  the  ruler  of  another  State  in  revenge  for  the 
death  in  B.C.  893  of  an  ancestor,  who  was  boiled  to  death 
at  the  feudal  metropolis  in  consequence  of  slander  by  a 
contemporary  ruler  of  the  Chi  State.  It  is  important  for 
candidates  at  the  public  examinations  to  be  familiar  with 
these  discrepancies,  as  they  are  frequently  called  upon 
to  "discuss"  such  points,  always  with  the  object  of  esta- 
blishing the  orthodox  and  accepted  interpretations. 

The  following  episode  is  from  Kung-yang's  commen- 
tary, and  is  quite  different  from  the  story  told  by  Tso  in 
reference  to  the  same  passage  : — 


KUNG-YANG  CHUAN  31 

Text. — "  In  summer,  in  the  5th  month,  the  Sung  State 
made  peace  with  the  Ch'u  State. 

"  In  B.C.  587  King  Chuang  of  Ch'u  was  besieging  the 
capital  of  Sung.  He  had  only  rations  for  seven  days, 
and  if  these  were  exhausted  before  he  could  take  the 
city,  he  meant  to  withdraw.  He  therefore  sent  his 
general  to  climb  the  ramparts  and  spy  out  the  condition 
of  the  besieged.  It  chanced  that  at  the  same  time  an 
officer  of  the  Sung  army  came  forth  upon  the  ramparts, 
and  the  two  met.  'How  is  your  State  getting  on?' 
inquired  the  general.  'Oh,  badly,'  replied  the  officer. 
'We  are  reduced  to  exchanging  children  for  food,  and 
their  bones  are  chopped  up  for  fuel.'  'That  is  bad 
indeed,'  said  the  general ;  '  I  had  heard,  however,  that 
the  besieged,  while  feeding  their  horses  with  bits 
in  their  mouths,  kept  some  fat  ones  for  exhibition  to 
strangers.  What  a  spirit  is  yours  ! '  To  this  the  officer 
replied,  '  I  too  have  heard  that  the  superior  man,  seeing 
another's  misfortune,  is  filled  with  pity,  while  the  ignoble 
man  is  filled  with  joy.  And  in  you  I  recognise  the 
superior  man  ;  so  I  have  told  you  our  story.'  '  Be  of 
good  cheer,'  said  the  general.  '  We  too  have  only  seven 
days'  rations,  and  if  we  do  not  conquer  you  in  that  time, 
we  shall  withdraw.'  He  then  bowed,  and  retired  to 
report  to  his  master.  The  latter  said,  'We  must  now 
capture  the  city  before  we  withdraw.'  '  Not  so/  replied 
the  general ;  '  I  told  the  officer  we  had  only  rations  for 
seven  days.'  King  Chuang  was  greatly  enraged  at  this  ; 
but  the  general  said,  '  If  a  small  State  like  Sung  has 
officers  who  speak  the  truth,  should  not  the  State  of 
Ch'u  have  such  men  also  ?'  The  king  still  wished  to 
remain,  but  the  general  threatened  to  leave  him,  and 
thus  peace  was  brought  about  between  the  two  States." 


CHAPTER   III 
THE  FOUR  BOOKS— MENCIUS 

No  Chinaman  thinks  of  entering  upon  a  study  of  the 
Five  Classics  until  he  has  mastered  and  committed  to 
memory  a  shorter  and  simpler  course  known  as  The 
Four  Books. 

The  first  of  these,  as  generally  arranged  for  students, 
is  the  Lun  Yii  or  Analects,  a  work  in  twenty  short 
chapters  or  books,  retailing  the  views  of  Confucius  on 
a  variety  of  subjects,  and  expressed  so  far  as  possible  in 
the  very  words  of  the  Master.  It  tells  us  nearly  all  we 
really  know  about  the  Sage,  and  may  possibly  have  been 
put  together  within  a  hundred  years  of  his  death.  From 
its  pages  we  seem  to  gather  some  idea,  a  mere  silhouette 
perhaps,  of  the  great  moralist  whose  mission  on  earth 
was  to  teach  duty  towards  one's  neighbour  to  his  fellow- 
men,  and  who  formulated  the  Golden  Rule  :  "What  you 
would  not  others  should  do  unto  you,  do  not  unto  them !" 

It  has  been  urged  by  many,  who  should  know  better, 
that  the  negative  form  of  this  maxim  is  unfit  to  rank 
with  the  positive  form  as  given  to  us  by  Christ.  But  of 
course  the  two  are  logically  identical,  as  may  be  shown 
by  the  simple  insertion  of  the  word  "  abstain  ;  "  that  is, 
you  would  not  that  others  should  abstain  from  certain 
actions  in  regard  to  yourself,  which  practically  conveys 
the  positive  injunction. 


THE  LUN  YO  33 

When  a  disciple  asked  Confucius  to  explain  charity  of 
heart,  he  replied  simply,  "  Love  one  another."  When, 
however,  he  was  asked  concerning  the  principle  that 
good  should  be  returned  for  evil,  as  already  enunciated 
by  Lao  Tzu  (see  ch.  iv.),  he  replied,  "  What  then  will  you 
return  for  good  ?  No :  return  good  for  good  ;  for  evil, 
justice." 

He  was  never  tired  of  emphasising  the  beauty  and 
necessity  of  truth:  "A  man  without  truthfulness!  1 
know  not  how  that  can  be." 

"  Let  loyalty  and  truth  be  paramount  with  you." 

"In  mourning,  it  is  better  to  be  sincere  than  punc- 
tilious." 

"  Man  is  born  to  be  upright.  If  he  be  not  so,  and 
yet  live,  he  is  lucky  to  have  escaped." 

"  Riches  and  honours  are  what  men  desire;  yet  except 
in  accordance  with  right  these  may  not  be  enjoyed." 

Confucius  undoubtedly  believed  in  a  Power,  unseen 
and  eternal,  whom  he  vaguely  addressed  as  Heaven  : 
"  He  who  has  offended  against  Heaven  has  none  to 
whom  he  can  pray."  "  I  do  not  murmur  against  Heaven," 
and  so  on.  His  greatest  commentator,  however, 
Chu  Hsi,  has  explained  that  by  "  Heaven "  is  meant 
"Abstract  Right,"  and  that  interpretation  is  accepted  by 
Confucianists  at  the  present  day.  At  the  same  time, 
Confucius  strongly  objected  to  discuss  the  supernatural, 
and  suggested  that  our  duties  are  towards  the  living 
rather  than  towards  the  dead. 

He  laid  the  greatest  stress  upon  filial  piety,  and  taught 
that  man  is  absolutely  pure  at  birth,  and  afterwards 
becomes  depraved  only  because  of  his  environment. 

Chapter  x.  of  the  Lun  Yii  gives  some  singular  details 
of  the  every-day  life  and  habits  of  the  Sage,  calculated 


34 

to  provoke  a  smile  among  those  with  whom  reverence 
for  Confucius  has  not  been  a  first  principle  from  the 
cradle  upwards,  but  received  with  loving  gravity  by  the 
Chinese  people  at  large.  The  following  are  extracts 
(Legge's  translation)  from  this  famous  chapter  : — 

"  Confucius,  in  his  village,  looked  simple  and  sincere, 
and  as  if  he  were  not  able  to  speak.  When  he  was  in 
the  prince's  ancestral  temple  or  in  the  court,  he  spoke 
minutely  on  every  point,  but  cautiously. 

"  When  he  entered  the  palace  gate,  he  seemed  to  bend 
his  body,  as  if  it  were  not  sufficient  to  admit  him. 

"  He  ascended  the  dais,  holding  up  his  robe  with  both 
his  hands  and  his  body  bent ;  holding  in  his  breath  also, 
as  if  he  dared  not  breathe. 

"  When  he  was  carrying  the  sceptre  of  his  prince,  he 
seemed  to  bend  his  body  as  if  he  were  not  able  to  bear 
its  weight. 

"  He  did  not  use  a  deep  purple  or  a  puce  colour  in 
the  ornaments  of  his  dress.  Even  in  his  undress  he  did 
not  wear  anything  of  a  red  or  reddish  colour. 

"  He  required  his  sleeping  dress  to  be  half  as  long 
again  as  his  body. 

"  He  did  not  eat  rice  which  had  been  injured  by  heat 
or  damp  and  turned  sour,  nor  fish  or  flesh  which  was 
gone.  He  did  not  eat  what  was  discoloured,  or  what 
was  of  a  bad  flavour,  nor  anything  which  was  not  in 
season.  He  did  not  eat  meat  which  was  not  cut  pro- 
perly, nor  what  was  served  without  its  proper  sauce. 

"  He  was  never  without  ginger  when  he  ate.  He  did 
not  eat  much. 

"When  eating,  he  did  not  converse.  When  in  bed, 
he  did  not  speak. 

"  Although  his  food  might  be  coarse  rice  and  vegetable 


MENCIUS  35 

soup,  he  would  offer  a  little  of  it  in  sacrifice  with  a  grave 
respectful  air. 

"  If  his  mat  was  not  straight,  he  did  not  sit  on  it. 

"The  stable  being  burned  down  when  he  was  at 
Court,  on  his  return  he  said,  '  Has  any  man  been  hurt  ? ' 
He  did  not  ask  about  the  horses. 

"  When  a  friend  sent  him  a  present,  though  it  might 
be  a  carriage  and  horses,  he  did  not  bow.  The  only  pre- 
sent for  which  he  bowed  was  that  of  the  flesh  of  sacrifice. 

"  In  bed,  he  did  not  lie  like  a  corpse.  At  home,  he 
did  not  put  on  any  formal  deportment. 

"When  he  saw  any  one  in  a  mourning  dress,  though 
it  might  be  an  acquaintance,  he  would  change  coun- 
tenance ;  when  he  saw  any  one  wearing  the  cap  of  full 
dress,  or  a  blind  person,  though  he  might  be  in  his 
undress,  he  would  salute  them  in  a  ceremonious  manner. 

"  When  he  was  at  an  entertainment  where  there  was  an 
abundance  of  provisions  set  before  him,  he  would  change 
countenance  and  rise  up.  On  a  sudden  clap  of  thunder 
or  a  violent  wind,  he  would  change  countenance." 

Next  in  educational  order  follows  the  work  briefly 
known  as  MENCIUS.  This  consists  of  seven  books  re- 
cording the  sayings  and  doings  of  a  man  to  whose 
genius  and  devotion  may  be  traced  the  final  triumph  of 
Confucianism.  Born  in  B.C.  372,  a  little  over  a  hundred 
years  after  the  death  of  the  Master,  Mencius  was  brought 
up  under  the  care  of  his  widowed  mother,  whose  name  is 
a  household  word  even  at  the  present  day.  As  a  child 
he  lived  with  her  at  first  near  a  cemetery,  the  result 
being  that  he  began  to  reproduce  in  play  the  solemn 
scenes  which  were  constantly  enacted  before  his  eyes. 
His  mother  accordingly  removed  to  another  house  near 


36  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

the  market-place,  and  before  long  the  little  boy  forgot 
all  about  funerals  and  played  at  buying  and  selling 
goods.  Once  more  his  mother  disapproved,  and  once 
more  she  changed  her  dwelling ;  this  time  to  a  house 
near  a  college,  where  he  soon  began  to  imitate  the 
ceremonial  observances  in  which  the  students  were  in- 
structed, to  the  great  joy  and  satisfaction  of  his  mother. 

Later  on  he  studied  under  K'ung  Chi,  the  grandson  of 
Confucius  ;  and  after  having  attained  to  a  perfect  appre- 
hension of  the  roms  or  Way  of  Confucius,  became,  at  the 
age  of  about  forty-five,  Minister  under  Prince  Hsiian  of 
the  Ch'i  State.  But  the  latter  would  not  carry  out  his 
principles,  and  Mencius  threw  up  his  post.  Thence  he 
wandered  away  to  several  States,  advising  their  rulers  to 
the  best  of  his  ability,  but  making  no  very  prolonged  stay. 
He  then  visited  Prince  Hui  of  the  Liang  State,  and  abode 
there  until  the  monarch's  death  in  B.C.  319.  After  that 
event  he  returned  to  the  State  of  Ch'i  and  resumed  his 
old  position.  In  B.C.  311  he  once  more  felt  himself 
constrained  to  resign  office,  and  retired  finally  into 
private  life,  occupying  himself  during  the  remainder  of 
his  days  in  teaching  and  in  preparing  the  philosophical 
record  which  now  passes  under  his  name.  He  lived  at 
a  time  when  the  feudal  princes  were  squabbling  over 
the  rival  systems  of  federation  and  imperialism,  and  he 
vainly  tried  to  put  into  practice  at  an  epoch  of  blood 
and  iron  the  gentle  virtues  of  the  Golden  Age.  His 
criterion  was  that  of  Confucius,  but  his  teachings  were 
on  a  lower  plane,  dealing  rather  with  man's  well-being 
from  the  point  of  view  of  political  economy.  He  was 
therefore  justly  named  by  Chao  Ch'i  the  Second  Holy 
One  or  Prophet,  a  title  under  which  he  is  still  known. 
He  was  an  uncompromising  defender  of  the  doctrines 


MENCIUS  37 

of  Confucius,  and  he  is  considered  to  have  effectually 
"  snuffed  out "  the  heterodox  schools  of  Yang  Chu  and 
Mo  Ti. 

The  following  is  a  specimen  of  the  logomachy  of  the 
day,  in  which  Mencius  is  supposed  to  have  excelled. 
The  subject  is  a  favourite  one — human  nature  : — 

"  Kao  Tzia  said,  '  Human  nature  may  be  compared 
with  a  block  of  wood ;  duty  towards  one's  neighbour, 
with  a  wooden  bowl.  To  develop  charity  and  duty 
towards  one's  neighbour  out  of  human  nature  is  like 
making  a  bow]  out  of  a  block  of  wood.' 

"To  this  Mencius  replied,  *  Can  you,  without  interfering 
with  the  natural  constitution  of  the  wood,  make  out  of 
it  a  bowl  ?  Surely  you  must  do  violence  to  that  con- 
stitution in  the  process  of  making  your  bowl.  And  by 
parity  of  reasoning  you  would  do  violence  to  human 
nature  in  the  process  of  developing  charity  and  duty 
towards  one's  neighbour.  From  which  it  follows  that 
all  men  would  come  to  regard  these  rather  as  evils  than 
otherwise.' 

"  Kao  Tzia  said,  '  Human  nature  is  like  rushing  water, 
which  flows  east  or  west  according  as  an  outlet  is  made 
for  it.  For  human  nature  makes  indifferently  for  good 
or  for  evil,  precisely  as  water  makes  indifferently  for  the 
east  or  for  the  west.' 

"  Mencius  replied,  '  Water  will  indeed  flow  indifferently 
towards  the  east  or  west  ;  but  will  it  flow  indifferently 
up  or  down  ?  It  will  not  ;  and  the  tendency  of  human 
nature  towards  good  is  like  the  tendency  of  water  to  flow 
down.  Every  man  has  this  bias  towards  good,  just  as 
all  water  flows  naturally  downwards.  By  splashing 
water,  you  may  indeed  cause  it  to  fly  over  your  head ; 
and  by  turning  its  course  you  may  keep  it  for  use  on 


38  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

the  hillside  ;  but  you  would  hardly  speak  of  such  results 
as  the  nature  of  water.  They  are  the  results,  of  course, 
of  a  force  majeure.  And  so  it  is  when  the  nature  of  man 
is  diverted  towards  evil.' 

"  Kao  Tzu  said,  '  That  which  comes  with  life  is  nature.' 

"  Mencius  replied,  '  Do  you  mean  that  there  is  such  a 
thing  as  nature  in  the  abstract,  just  as  there  is  whiteness 
in  the  abstract  ? ' 

"  '  I  do/  answered  Kao  Tzu. 

"'Just,  for  instance/  continued  Mencius,  'as  the  white- 
ness of  a  feather  is  the  same  as  the  whiteness  of  snow, 
or  the  whiteness  of  snow  as  the  whiteness  of  jade  ?' 

"  '  I  do/  answered  Kao  Tzu  again. 

" '  In  that  case/  retorted  Mencius,  '  the  nature  of  a  dog 
is  the  same  as  that  of  an  ox,  and  the  nature  of  an  ox  the 
same  as  that  of  a  man.' 

"  Kao  Tzu  said,  'Eating  and  reproduction  of  the  species 
are  natural  instincts.  Charity  is  subjective  and  innate ; 
duty  towards  one's  neighbour  is  objective  and  acquired. 
For  instance,  there  is  a  man  who  is  my  senior,  and  I 
defer  to  him  as  such.  Not  because  any  abstract  principle 
of  seniority  exists  subjectively  in  me,  but  in  the  same 
way  that  if  I  see  an  albino,  I  recognise  him  as  a  white 
man  because  he  is  so  objectively  to  me.  Consequently, 
I  say  that  duty  towards  one's  neighbour  is  objective  or 
acquired.' 

"  Mencius  replied,  'The  cases  are  not  analogous.  The 
whiteness  of  a  white  horse  is  undoubtedly  the  same  as 
the  whiteness  of  a  white  man  ;  but  the  seniority  of  a 
horse  is  not  the  same  as  the  seniority  of  a  man.  Does 
our  duty  to  our  senior  begin  and  end  with  the  fact  of 
his  seniority  ?  Or  does  it  not  rather  consist  in  the 
necessity  of  deferring  to  him  as  such  ? ' 


MENCIUS  39 

"  Kao  Tzu  said,  '  I  love  my  own  brother,  but  I  do  not 
love  another  man's  brother.  The  distinction  arises  from 
within  myself ;  therefore  I  call  it  subjective  or  innate. 
But  I  defer  to  a  stranger  who  is  my  senior,  just  as  I 
defer  to  a  senior  among  my  own  people.  The  distinc- 
tion comes  to  me  from  without ;  therefore  I  call  it  objec- 
tive or  acquired." 

"  Mencius  retorted,  '  We  enjoy  food  cooked  by 
strangers  just  as  much  as  food  cooked  by  our  own 
people.  Yet  extension  of  your  principle  lands  us  in  the 
conclusion  that  our  appreciation  of  cooked  food  is  also 
objective  and  acquired.'  " 

The  following  is  a  well-known  colloquy  between 
Mencius  and  a  sophist  of  the  day  who  tried  to  entangle 
the  former  in  his  talk  : — 

The  sophist  inquired,  saying,  "  'Is  it  a  rule  of  social 
etiquette  that  when  men  and  women  pass  things  from 
one  to  another  they  shall  not  allow  their  hands  to 
touch  ? ' 

"'That  is  the  rule,'  replied  Mencius. 

" '  Now  suppose/  continued  the  sophist,  '  that  a  man's 
sister-in-law  were  drowning,  could  he  take  hold  of  her 
hand  and  save  her  ?' 

" '  Any  one  who  did  not  do  so,'  said  Mencius,  '  would 
have  the  heart  of  a  wolf.  That  men  and  women  when 
passing  things  from  one  to  another  may  not  let  their 
hands  touch  is  a  rule  for  general  application.  To  save 
a  drowning  sister-in-law  by  taking  hold  of  her  hand  is 
altogether  an  exceptional  case.'  " 

The  works  of  Mencius  abound,  like  the  Confucian 
Analects,  in  sententious  utterances.  The  following 


40  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

examples  illustrate  his  general  bias  in  politics: — "The 
people  are  of  the  highest  importance  ;  the  gods  come 
second  ;  the  sovereign  is  of  lesser  weight." 

"Chieh  and  Chou  lost  the  empire  because  they  lost 
the  people,  which  means  that  they  lost  the  confidence  of 
the  people.  The  way  to  gain  the  people  is  to  gain  their 
confidence,  and  the  way  to  do  that  is  to  provide  them 
with  what  they  like  and  not  with  what  they  loathe." 

This  is  how  Mencius  snuffed  out  the  two  heterodox 
philosophers  mentioned  above  : — 

"  The  systems  of  Yang  Chu  and  Mo  Ti  fill  the  whole 
empire.  If  a  man  is  not  a  disciple  of  the  former,  he  is  a 
disciple  of  the  latter.  But  Yang  Chu's  egoism  excludes 
the  claim  of  a  sovereign,  while  Mo  Ti's  universal  altruism 
leaves  out  the  claim  of  a  father.  And  he  who  recognises 
the  claim  of  neither  sovereign  nor  father  is  a  brute 
beast." 

Yang  Chu  seems  to  have  carried  his  egoism  so  far  that 
even  to  benefit  the  whole  world  he  would  not  have 
parted  with  a  single  hair  from  his  body. 

"The  men  of  old  knew  that  with  life  they  had  come 
but  for  a  while,  and  that  with  death  they  would  shortly 
depart  again.  Therefore  they  followed  the  desires  of 
their  own  hearts,  and  did  not  deny  themselves  pleasures 
to  which  they  felt  naturally  inclined.  Fame  tempted 
them  not ;  but  led  by  their  instincts  alone,  they  took 
such  enjoyments  as  lay  in  their  path,  not  seeking  for  a 
name  beyond  the  grave.  They  were  thus  out  of  the 
reach  of  censure  ;  while  as  for  precedence  among  men, 
or  length  or  shortness  of  life,  these  gave  them  no 
concern  whatever." 


TA  HSOEH  AND  CHUNG  YUNG  41 

Mo  Ti,  on  the  other  hand,  showed  that  under  the 
altruistic  system  all  calamities  which  men  bring  upon 
one  another  would  altogether  disappear,  and  that  the 
peace  and  happiness  of  the  Golden  Age  would  be 
renewed. 

In  the  Ta  Hsiieh,  or  Great  Learning,  which  forms 
Sect,  xxxix.  of  the  Book  of  Rites,  and  really  means 
learning  for  adults,  we  have  a  short  politico-ethical 
treatise,  the  authorship  of  which  is  unknown,  but  is 
usually  attributed  partly  to  Confucius,  and  partly  to 
TsfiNG  TS'AN,  one  of  the  most  famous  of  his  disciples. 
In  the  former  portion  there  occurs  the  following  well- 
known  climax  : — 

"The  men  of  old,  in  their  desire  to  manifest  great 
virtue  throughout  the  empire,  began  with  good  govern- 
ment in  the  various  States.  To  achieve  this,  it  was 
necessary  first  to  order  aright  their  own  families,  which 
in  turn  was  preceded  by  cultivation  of  their  own  selves, 
and  that  again  by  rectification  of  the  heart,  following 
upon  sincerity  of  purpose  which  comes  from  extension 
of  knowledge,  this  last  being  derived  from  due  investiga- 
tion of  objective  existences." 

One  more  short  treatise,  known  as  the  Chung  Yung, 
which  forms  Ch.  xxviii.  of  the  Book  of  Rites,  brings  us 
to  the  end  of  the  Four  Books.  Its  title  has  been  trans- 
lated in  various  ways.1  Julien  rendered  the  term  by 
"  L'Invariable  Milieu,"  Legge  by  "The  Doctrine  of  the 
Mean."  Its  authorship  is  assigned  to  K'UNG  CHI,  grand- 

1  Chung  means  "middle,"  and  Yung  means  "course,"  the  former  being 
defined  by  the  Chinese  as  "that  which  is  without  deflection  or  bias,"  the 
hitter  as  "  that  which  never  varies  in  its  direction." 


42  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

son  of  Confucius.  He  seems  to  have  done  little  more 
than  enlarge  upon  certain  general  principles  of  his 
grandfather  in  relation  to  the  nature  of  man  and  right 
conduct  upon  earth.  He  seizes  the  occasion  to  pro- 
nounce an  impassioned  eulogium  upon  Confucius, 
concluding  with  the  following  words  : — 

"  Therefore  his  fame  overflows  the  Middle  Kingdom, 
and  reaches  the  barbarians  of  north  and  south.  Wher- 
ever ships  and  waggons  can  go,  or  the  strength  of  man 
penetrate  ;  wherever  there  is  heaven  above  and  earth 
below  ;  wherever  the  sun  and  moon  shed  their  light, 
or  frosts  and  dews  fall, — all  who  have  blood  and  breath 
honour  and  love  him.  Wherefore  it  may  be  said  that 
he  is  the  peer  of  God." 


CHAPTER  IV 

MISCELLANEOUS   WRITERS 

NAMES  of  the  authors  who  belong  to  this  period,  B.C.  600 
to  B.C.  200,  and  of  the  works  on  a  variety  of  subjects 
attributed  to  them,  would  fill  a  long  list.  Many  of  the 
latter  have  disappeared,  and  others  are  gross  forgeries, 
chiefly  of  the  first  and  second  centuries  of  our  era,  an 
epoch  which,  curiously  enough,  is  remarkable  for  a 
similar  wave  of  forgery  on  the  other  side  of  the  world. 
As  to  the  authors,  it  will  be  seen  later  on  that  the 
Chinese  even  went  so  far  as  to  create  some  of  these  for 
antiquity  and  then  write  up  treatises  to  match. 

There  was  SUN  Tzu  of  the  6th  century  B.C.  He  is 
said  to  have  written  the  Ping  Fa,  or  Art  of  War,  in 
thirteen  sections,  whereby  hangs  a  strange  tale.  When 
he  was  discoursing  one  day  with  Prince  Ho-lu  of  the 
Wu  State,  the  latter  said,  "  I  have  read  your  book  and 
want  to  know  if  you  could  apply  its  principles  to 
women."  Sun  Tzu  replied  in  the  affirmative,  where- 
upon the  Prince  took  180  girls  out  of  his  harem  and 
bade  Sun  Tzu  deal  with  them  as  with  troops.  Accord- 
ingly he  divided  them  into  two  companies,  and  at  the 
head  of  each  placed  a  favourite  concubine  of  the  Prince. 
But  when  the  drums  sounded  for  drill  to  begin,  all  the 
girls  burst  out  laughing.  Thereupon  Sun  Tzu,  without 
a  moment's  delay,  caused  the  two  concubines  in  com- 


44  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

mand  to  be  beheaded.  This  at  once  restored  order, 
and  ultimately  the  corps  was  raised  to  a  state  of  great 
efficiency. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  Art  of  War  : — 

"  If  soldiers  are  not  carefully  chosen  and  well  drilled 
to  obey,  their  movements  will  be  irregular.  They  will 
not  act  in  concert.  They  will  miss  success  for  want  of 
unanimity.  Their  retreat  will  be  disorderly,  one  half 
fighting  while  the  other  is  running  away.  They  will 
not  respond  to  the  call  of  the  gong  and  drum.  One 
hundred  such  as  these  will  not  hold  their  own  against 
ten  well-drilled  men. 

"If  their  arms  are  not  good,  the  soldiers  might  as 
well  have  none.  If  the  cuirass  is  not  stout  and  close 
set,  the  breast  might  as  well  be  bare.  Bows  that  will 
not  carry  are  no  more  use  at  long  distances  than  swords 
and  spears.  Bad  marksmen  might  as  well  have  no 
arrows.  Even  good  marksmen,  unless  able  to  make 
their  arrows  pierce,  might  as  well  shoot  with  headless 
shafts.  These  are  the  oversights  of  incompetent  gene" 
rals.  Five  such  soldiers  are  no  match  for  one." 

It  is  notwithstanding  very  doubtful  if  we  have  any 
genuine  remains  of  either  Sun  Tzu,  or  of  Kuan  Tzu, 
Wu  Tzu,  Wen  Tzu,  and  several  other  early  writers  on 
war,  political  philosophy,  and  cognate  subjects.  The 
same  remark  applies  equally  to  Chinese  medical  litera- 
ture, the  bulk  of  which  is  enormous,  some  of  it  nomi- 
nally dating  back  to  legendary  times,  but  always  failing 
to  stand  the  application  of  the  simplest  test. 

The  Erh  Ya,  or  Nearing  the  Standard,  is  a  work 
which  has  often  been  assigned  to  the  i2th  century 
B.C.  It  is  a  guide  to  the  correct  use  of  many  miscel- 


TAN  KUNG  45 

laneous  terms,  including  names  of  animals,  birds,  plants, 
etc.,  to  which  are  added  numerous  illustrations.  It  was 
first  edited  with  commentary  by  Kuo  P'o,  of  whom  we 
shall  read  later  on,  and  some  Chinese  critics  would  have 
us  believe  that  the  illustrations  we  now  possess  were 
then  already  in  existence.  But  the  whole  question  is 
involved  in  mystery.  The  following  will  give  an  idea 
of  the  text : — 

"  For  metal  we  say  lou  (to  chase) ;  for  wood  Ko  (to 
carve) ;  for  bone  ctiieh  (to  cut),"  etc.,  etc. 

There  are  some  interesting  remains  of  a  writer  named 
TAN  KUNG,  who  flourished  in  the  4th  and  3rd  cen- 
turies B.C.,  and  whose  work  has  been  included  in  the 
Book  of  Rites.  The  three  following  extracts  will  give 
an  idea  of  his  scope  : — 

i.  "One  day  Yu-tzu  and  Tzu-yu  saw  a  child  weeping 
for  the  loss  of  its  parents.  Thereupon  the  former  ob- 
served, '  I  never  could  understand  why  mourners  should 
necessarily  jump  about  to  show  their  grief,  and  would 
long  ago  have  got  rid  of  the  custom.  Now  here  you 
have  an  honest  expression  of  feeling,  and  that  is  all  there 
should  ever  be.' 

"'My  friend/  replied  Tzu-yu,  'the  mourning  cere- 
monial, with  all  its  material  accompaniments,  is  at  once 
a  check  upon  undue  emotion  and  a  guarantee  against 
any  lack  of  proper  respect.  Simply  to  give  vent  to 
the  feelings  is  the  way  of  barbarians.  That  is  not 
our  way. 

"  '  Consider.  A  man  who  is  pleased  will  show  it  in  his 
face.  He  will  sing.  He  will  get  excited.  He  will  dance. 
So,  too,  a  man  who  is  vexed  will  look  sad.  He  will  sigh. 
He  will  beat  his  breast.  He  will  jump  about.  The  due 


46  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

regulation  of  these  emotions  is  the  function  of  a  set 
ceremonial. 

" '  Further.  A  man  dies  and  becomes  an  object  of 
loathing.  A  dead  body  is  shunned.  Therefore,  a 
shroud  is  prepared,  and  other  paraphernalia  of  burial, 
in  order  that  the  survivors  may  cease  to  loathe.  At 
death  there  is  a  sacrifice  of  wine  and  meat ;  when  the 
funeral  cortege  is  about  to  start,  there  is  another ;  and 
after  burial  there  is  yet  another.  Yet  no  one  ever  saw 
the  spirit  of  the  departed  come  to  taste  of  the  food. 

'"These  have  been  our  customs  from  remote  antiquity. 
They  have  not  been  discarded,  because,  in  consequence, 
men  no  more  shun  the  dead.  What  you  may  censure 
in  those  who  perform  the  ceremonial  is  no  blemish  in 
the  ceremonial  itself.'" 

2.  "When  Tzu-chii  died,  his  wife  and  secretary  took 
counsel  together  as  to  who  should  be  interred  with  him. 
All  was  settled  before  the  arrival  of  his  brother,  Tzii- 
heng ;    and    then    they    informed    him,    saying,    'The 
deceased  requires  some  one  to  attend  upon  him  in  the 
nether  world.     We  must  ask  you  to  go  down  with  his 
body  into  the  grave.'      '  Burial  of  the  living   with  the 
dead/   replied   Tzu-heng,    'is   not   in    accordance    with 
established  rites.     Still,  as  you  say  some  one  is  wanted 
to  attend  upon  the  deceased,  who  better  fitted  than  his 
wife  and  secretary  ?     If  this  contingency  can  be  avoided 
altogether,    I    am   willing ;    if    not,   then   the   duty   will 
devolve   upon    you   two.'      From   that    time    forth    the 
custom  fell  into  desuetude." 

3.  "When  Confucius  was  crossing  the  T'ai  mountain, 
he  overheard  a  woman  weeping   and  wailing  beside   a 
grave.     He  thereupon  sent  one  of  his  disciples   to  ask 
what  was   the   matter ;    and   the    latter    addressed    the 


HSON  TZt)  47 

woman,  saying,  'Some  great  sorrow  must  have  come 
upon  you  that  you  give  way  to  grief  like  this  ?'  '  Indeed 
it  is  so/  replied  she.  '  My  father-in-law  was  killed  here 
by  a  tiger ;  after  that,  my  husband ;  and  now  my  son 
has  perished  by  the  same  death.'  '  But  why,  then/  in- 
quired Confucius,  'do  you  not  go  away  ?'  'The  govern- 
ment is  not  harsh/  answered  the  woman.  '  There  ! ' 
cried  the  Master,  turning  to  his  disciples  ;  '  remember 
that.  Bad  government  is  worse  than  a  tiger.' " 

The  philosopher  HsiJN  TzO  of  the  3rd  century  B.C.  is 
widely  known  for  his  heterodox  views  on  the  nature  of 
man,  being  directly  opposed  to  the  Confucian  doctrine 
so  warmly  advocated  by  Mencius.  The  following  pas- 
sage, which  hardly  carries  conviction,  contains  the  gist 
of  his  argument : — 

"  By  nature,  man  is  evil.  If  a  man  is  good,  that  is  an 
artificial  result.  For  his  condition  being  what  it  is,  he  is 
influenced  first  of  all  by  a  desire  for  gain.  Hence  he 
strives  to  get  all  he  can  without  consideration  for  his 
neighbour.  Secondly,  he  is  liable  to  envy  and  hate. 
Hence  he  seeks  the  ruin  of  others,  and  loyalty  and  truth 
are  set  aside.  Thirdly,  he  is  a  slave  to  his  animal 
passions.  Hence  he  commits  excesses,  and  wanders 
from  the  path  of  duty  and  right. 

"Thus,  conformity  with  man's  natural  disposition  leads 
to  all  kinds  of  violence,  disorder,  and  ultimate  barbarism. 
Only  under  the  restraint  of  law  and  of  lofty  moral 
influences  does  man  eventually  become  fit  to  be  a  mem- 
ber of  regularly  organised  society. 

"  From  these  premisses  it  seems  quite  clear  that  by 
nature  man  is  evil  ;  and  that  if  a  man  is  good,  that  is  an 
artificial  result." 


48  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

The  Hsiao  Ching,  or  Classic  of  Filial  Piety,  is  assigned 
partly  to  Confucius  and  partly  to  TS£NG  TS'AN,  though 
it  more  probably  belongs  to  a  very  much  later  date. 
Considering  that  filial  piety  is  admittedly  the  keystone  of 
Chinese  civilisation,  it  is  disappointing  to  find  nothing 
more  on  the  subject  than  a  poor  pamphlet  of  common- 
place and  ill-strung  sentences,  which  gives  the  impression 
of  having  been  written  to  fill  a  void.  One  short  ex- 
tract will  suffice: — 

"The  Master  said,  'There  are  three  thousand  offences 
against  which  the  five  punishments  are  directed,  and 
there  is  not  one  of  them  greater  than  being  unfilial. 

"'When  constraint  is  put  upon  a  ruler,  that  is  the 
disowning  of  his  superiority ;  when  the  authority  of 
the  sages  is  disallowed,  that  is  the  disowning  of  all  law ; 
when  filial  piety  is  put  aside,  that  is  the  disowning  of  the 
principle  of  affection.  These  three  things  pave  the  way 
to  anarchy.' " 

The  Chia  Yut  or  Family  Sayings  of  Confucius,  is  a  work 
with  a  fascinating  title,  which  has  been  ascribed  by  some  to 
the  immediate  disciples  of  Confucius,  but  which,  as  it  now 
exists,  is  usually  thought  by  native  scholars  to  have  been 
composed  by  Wang  Su,  a  learned  official  who  died  A.D. 
256.  There  appears  to  have  been  an  older  work  under 
this  same  title,  but  how  far  the  later  work  is  indebted 
to  it,  or  based  upon  it,  seems  likely  to  remain  unknown. 

Another  discredited  work  is  the  Lil  Shih  Ctiun  Ctiiu, 
or  Spring  and  Autumn  of  Li)  PU-WEI,  who  died  B.C.  235 
and  was  the  putative  sire  of  the  First  Emperor  (see  ch. 
vii.).  It  contains  a  great  deal  about  the  early  history  of 
China,  some  of  which  is  no  doubt  based  upon  fact. 

Lastly,  among  spurious  books  may  be  mentioned  the 


MU  TIEN  TZO  CHUAN  49 

Mu  Tlien  Tzii  Chuan,  an  account  of  a  mythical  journey 
by  a  sovereign  of  the  Chou  dynasty,  supposed  to  have 
been  taken  about  1000  B.C.  The  sovereign  is  unfortu- 
nately spoken  of  by  his  posthumous  title,  and  the  work 
was  evidently  written  up  in  the  3rd  century  A.D.  to  suit 
a  statement  found  in  Lieh  Tzu  (see  chapter  vi.)  to  the 
effect  that  the  ruler  in  question  did  make  some  such 
journey  to  the  West. 


CHAPTER  V 
POETRY— INSCRIPTIONS 

THE  poetry  which  is  representative  of  the  period  between 
the  death  of  Confucius  and  the  2nd  century  B.C.  is  a 
thing  apart.  There  is  nothing  like  it  in  the  whole  range 
of  Chinese  literature.  It  illumines  many  a  native  pro- 
nouncement on  the  poetic  art,  the  drift  of  which  would 
otherwise  remain  obscure.  For  poetry  has  been  denned 
by  the  Chinese  as  "emotion  expressed  in  words,"  a  defini- 
tion perhaps  not  more  inadequate  than  Wordsworth's 
"impassioned  expression."  "Poetry,"  they  say,  "knows 
no  law."  And  again,  "The  men  of  old  reckoned  it  the 
highest  excellence  in  poetry  that  the  meaning  should  lie 
beyond  the  words,  and  that  the  reader  should  have  to 
think  it  out."  Of  these  three  canons  only  the  last  can 
be  said  to  have  survived  to  the  present  day.  But  in  the 
fourth  century  B.C.,  Ch'ii  Yuan  and  his  school  indulged 
in  wild  irregular  metres  which  consorted  well  with  their 
wild  irregular  thoughts.  Their  poetry  was  prose  run 
mad.  It  was  allusive  and  allegorical  to  a  high  degree, 
and  now,  but  for  the  commentary,  much  of  it  would  be 
quite  unintelligible. 

CH'U  YUAN  is  the  type  of  a  loyal  Minister.  He  en- 
joyed the  full  confidence  of  his  Prince  until  at  length 
the  jealousies  and  intrigues  of  rivals  sapped  his  position 
in  the  State.  Then  it  was  that  he  composed  the  Li  Sao, 


LI  SAO  51 

or  Falling  into  Trouble,  the  first  section  of  which  ex- 
tends to  nearly  400  lines.  Beginning  from  the  birth 
of  the  writer,  it  describes  his  cultivation  of  virtue  and 
his  earnest  endeavour  to  translate  precept  into  practice. 
Discouraged  by  failure,  he  visits  the  grave  of  the  Em- 
peror Shun  (chapter  ii.),  and  gives  himself  up  to  prayer, 
until  at  length  a  phoenix-car  and  dragons  appear,  and 
carry  him  in  search  of  his  ideal  away  beyond  the 
domain  of  mortality, — the  chariot  of  the  Sun  moving 
slowly  to  light  him  longer  on  the  way,  the  Moon  leading 
and  the  Winds  bringing  up  the  rear, — up  to  the  very 
palace  of  God.  Unable  to  gain  admission  here,  he 
seeks  out  a  famous  magician,  who  counsels  him  to  stand 
firm  and  to  continue  his  search ;  whereupon,  surrounded 
by  gorgeous  clouds  and  dazzling  rainbows,  and  amid  the 
music  of  tinkling  ornaments  attached  to  his  car,  he  starts 
from  the  Milky  Way,  and  passing  the  Western  Pole, 
reaches  the  sources  of  the  Yellow  River.  Before  long 
he  is  once  again  in  sight  of  his  native  land,  but  without 
having  discovered  the  object  of  his  search. 

Overwhelmed  by  further  disappointments,  and  sinking 
still  more  deeply  into  disfavour,  so  that  he  cared  no 
longer  to  live,  he  went  forth  to  the  banks  of  the  Mi-lo 
river.  There  he  met  a  fisherman  who  accosted  him, 
saying,  "  Are  you  not  his  Excellency  the  Minister  ? 
What  has  brought  you  to  this  pass?"  "The  world," 
replied  Ch'u  Yuan,  "  is  foul,  and  I  alone  am  clean. 
There  they  are  all  drunk,  while  I  alone  am  sober.  So  I 
am  dismissed."  "  Ah  ! "  said  the  fisherman,  "  the  true 
sage  does  not  quarrel  with  his  environment,  but  adapts 
himself  to  it.  If,  as  you  say,  the  world  is  foul,  why  not 
leap  into  the  tide  and  make  it  clean  ?  If  all  men  are 
drunk,  why  not  drink  with  them  and  teach  them  to  avoid 


5?  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

excess  ? "  After  some  further  colloquy,  the  fisherman 
rowed  away;  and  Ch'ii  Yuan,  clasping  a  large  stone  in 
his  arms,  plunged  into  the  river  and  was  seen  no  more. 
This  took  place  on  the  fifth  of  the  fifth  moon  ;  and  ever 
afterwards  the  people  of  Ch'u  commemorated  the  day 
by  an  annual  festival,  when  offerings  of  rice  in  bamboo 
tubes  were  cast  into  the  river  as  a  sacrifice  to  the  spirit 
of  their  great  hero.  Such  is  the  origin  of  the  modern 
Dragon-Boat  Festival,  which  is  supposed  to  be  a  search 
for  the  body  of  Ch'ii  Yuan. 

A  good  specimen  of  his  style  will  be  found  in  the 
following  short  poem,  entitled  "The  Genius  of  the 
Mountain."  It  is  one  of  "  nine  songs  "  which,  together 
with  a  number  of  other  pieces  in  a  similar  strain,  have 
been  classed  under  the  general  heading,  Li  Sao,  as  above. 

"  Methinks  there  is  a  Genius  of  the  hills,  clad  in 
wistaria,  girdled  with  ivy,  with  smiling  lips,  of  witching 
mien,  riding  on  the  red  pard,  wild  cats  galloping  in  the 
rear,  reclining  in  a  chariot,  with  banners  of  cassia, 
cloaked  with  the  orchid,  girt  with  azalea,  culling  the 
perfume  of  sweet  flowers  to  leave  behind  a  memory  in 
the  heart.  But  dark  is  the  grove  wherein  I  dwell.  No 
light  of  day  reaches  it  ever.  The  path  thither  is  danger- 
ous and  difficult  to  climb.  Alone  I  stand  on  the  hill-top, 
while  the  clouds  float  beneath  my  feet,  and  all  around  is 
wrapped  in  gloom. 

"Gently  blows  the  east  wind  ;  softly  falls  the  rain.  In 
my  joy  I  become  oblivious  of  home  ;  for  who  in  my 
decline  would  honour  me  now  ? 

"  I  pluck  the  larkspur  on  the  hillside,  amid  the  chaos 
of  rock  and  tangled  vine.  I  hate  him  who  has  made  me 
an  outcast,  who  has  now  no  leisure  to  think  of  me. 

"  I   drink   from  the    rocky   spring.      I    shade    myself 


SUNG  YO  53 

beneath  the  spreading  pine.  Even  though  he  were  to 
recall  me  to  him,  I  could  not  fall  to  the  level  of  the 
world. 

"  Now  booms  the  thunder  through  the  drizzling  rain. 
The  gibbons  howl  around  me  all  the  long  night.  The 
gale  rushes  fitfully  through  the  whispering  trees.  And  I 
am  thinking  of  my  Prince,  but  in  vain  ;  for  I  cannot  lay 
my  grief." 

Another  leading  poet  of  the  day  was  SUNG  Yu,  of 
whom  we  know  little  beyond  the  fact  that  he  was  nephew 
of  Ch'ii  Yiaan,  and  like  his  uncle  both  a  statesman  and 
a  poet.  The  following  extract  exhibits  him  in  a  mood 
not  far  removed  from  the  lamentations  of  the  Li  Sao : — 

"  Among  birds  the  phoenix,  among  fishes  the  leviathan 

holds  the  chief est  place  ; 
Cleaving  the  crimson  clouds 

the  ph&nix  soars  apace, 
With  only  the  blue  sky  above, 

far  into  the  realms  of  space; 
But  the  grandeur  of  heaven  and  earth 
is  as  naught  to  the  hedge-sparrow  race. 

And  the  leviathan  rises  in  one  ocean 

to  go  to  rest  in  a  second, 
While  the  depth  of  a  puddle  by  a  humble  minnow 

as  the  depth  of  the  sea  is  reckoned. 

And  just  as  with  birds  and  with  fishes, 

so  too  it  is  with  manj 
Here  soars  a  phcenix, 

there  swims  a  leviathan  .  .  . 
Behold  the  philosopher,  full  of  nervous  thought^ 

with  aflame  that  never  grows  dim, 
Dwelling  complacently  alone  ; 

say,  what  can  the  vulgar  herd  know  of  him  1 " 


54  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

As  has  been  stated  above,  the  poems  of  this  school  are 
irregular  in  metre ;  in  fact,  they  are  only  approximately 
metrical.  The  poet  never  ends  his  line  in  deference  to 
a  prescribed  number  of  feet,  but  lengthens  or  shortens 
to  suit  the  exigency  of  his  thought.  Similarly,  he  may 
rhyme  or  he  may  not.  The  reader,  however,  is  never 
conscious  of  any  want  of  art,  carried  away  as  he  is  by 
flow  of  language  and  rapid  succession  of  poetical  imagery. 

Several  other  poets,  such  as  Chia  I  and  Tung-fang  So, 
who  cultivated  this  particular  vein,  but  on  a  somewhat 
lower  plane,  belong  to  the  second  century  B.C.,  thus  over- 
lapping a  period  which  must  be  regarded  as  heralding 
the  birth  of  a  new  style  rather  than  occupied  with  the 
passing  of  the  old. 

It  may  here  be  mentioned  that  many  short  pieces  of 
doubtful  age  and  authorship — some  few  unquestionably 
old  —  have  been  rescued  by  Chinese  scholars  from 
various  sources,  and  formed  into  convenient  collections. 
Of  such  is  a  verse  known  as  "  Yao's  Advice."  Yao  being 
the  legendary  monarch  mentioned  in  chapter  ii.,  who  is 
associated  with  Shun  in  China's  Golden  Age  : — 

"  With  trembling  heart  and  cautious  steps 

Walk  daily  in  fear  of  God  .  .  . 
Though  you  never  trip  over  a  mountain, 
You  may  often  trip  over  a  clod." 

There  is  also  the  husbandman's  song,  which  enlarges 
upon  the  national  happiness  of  those  halcyon  days  : — 

"  Work,  work  j— from  the  rising  sun 
Till  sunset  comes  and  the  day  is  done 
I  plough  the  sod 
And  harrow  the  clod, 
And  meat  and  drink  both  come  to  met 
So  what  care  I  for  the  powers  that  be  t " 


INSCRIPTIONS  55 

It  seems  to  have  been  customary  in  early  days  to 
attach  inscriptions,  poetical  and  otherwise,  to  all  sorts  of 
articles  for  daily  use.  On  the  bath-tub  of  T'ang,  founder 
of  the  Shang  dynasty  in  B.C.  1766,  there  was  said  to  have 
been  written  these  words  : — "  If  any  one  on  any  one  day 
can  make  a  new  man  of  himself,  let  him  do  so  every  day." 
Similarly,  an  old  metal  mirror  bore  as  its  legend,  "  Man 
combs  his  hair  every  morning  :  why  not  his  heart  ? " 
And  the  following  lines  are  said  to  be  taken  from  an 
ancient  wash-basin  : — 

M  O h,  rather  than  sink  in  the  -world's  foul  tide 
I  -would  sink  in  the  bottomless  main; 
For  he  who  sinks  in  the  world's  foul  tide 
In  noisome  depths  shall  for  ever  abide, 
But  he  who  sinks  in  the  bottomless  main 
May  hope  to  float  to  the  surface  again" 

In  this  class  of  verse,  too,  the  metre  is  often  irregular 
and  the  rhyme  a  mere  jingle,  according  to  the  canons  of 
the  stricter  prosody  which  came  into  existence  later  on. 


CHAPTER  VI 

TAOISM— THE  "TAO-TE-CHING" 

THE  reader  is  now  asked  to  begin  once  more  at  the  sixth 
century  B.C.  So  far  we  have  dealt  almost  exclusively  with 
what  may  be  called  orthodox  literature,  that  is  to  say,  of 
or  belonging  to  or  based  upon  the  Confucian  Canon.  It 
seemed  advisable  to  get  that  well  off  our  hands  before 
entering  upon  another  branch,  scarcely  indeed  as  im- 
portant, but  much  more  difficult  to  handle.  This  branch 
consists  of  the  literature  of  Taoism,  or  that  which  has 
gathered  around  what  is  known  as  the  Tao  or  Way  of 
LAO  TzO,  growing  and  flourishing  alongside  of,  though 
in  direct  antagonism  to,  that  which  is  founded  upon  the 
criteria  and  doctrines  of  Confucius.  Unfortunately  it  is 
quite  impossible  to  explain  at  the  outset  in  what  this 
Tao  actually  consists.  According  to  Lao  Tzu  himself, 
"Those  who  know  do  not  tell;  those  who  tell  do  not 
know."  It  is  hoped,  however,  that  by  the  time  the  end 
of  this  chapter  is  reached,  some  glimmering  of  the  mean- 
ing of  Tao  may  have  reached  the  minds  of  those  who 
have  been  patient  enough  to  follow  the  argument. 

Lao  Tzu  was  born,  according  to  the  weight  of  evidence, 
in  the  year  B.C.  604.  Omitting  all  reference  to  the  super- 
natural phenomena  which  attended  his  birth  and  early 
years,  it  only  remains  to  say  that  we  really  know  next  to 

nothing  about  him.     There  is  a  short  biography  of  Lao 

56 


LAO  TZO  57 

Tzu  to  be  found  in  the  history  of  Ssu-ma  Ch'ien,  to  be 
dealt  with  in  Book  II.,  chapter  iii.,  but  internal  evidence 
points  to  embroidery  laid  on  by  other  hands.  Just  as  it 
was  deemed  necessary  by  pious  enthusiasts  to  interpolate 
in  the  work  of  Josephus  a  passage  referring  to  Christ,  so 
it  would  appear  that  the  original  note  by  Ssu-ma  Ch'ien 
has  been  carefully  touched  up  to  suit  the  requirements 
of  an  unauthenticated  meeting  between  Lao  Tzu  and 
Confucius,  which  has  been  inserted  very  much  apropos  de 
bottes ;  the  more  so,  as  Confucius  is  made  to  visit  Lao 
Tzu  with  a  view  to  information  on  Rites,  a  subject  which 
Lao  Tzii  held  in  very  low  esteem.  This  biography  ends 
with  the  following  extraordinary  episode  : — 

"  Lao  Tzu  abode  for  a  long  time  in  Chou,  but  when  he 
saw  that  the  State  showed  signs  of  decay,  he  left.  On 
reaching  the  frontier,  the  Warden,  named  Yin  Hsi,  said 
to  him,  '  So  you  are  going  into  retirement.  I  beg  you  to 
write  a  book  for  me.'  Thereupon  Lao  Tzu  wrote  a  book, 
in  two  parts,  on  Tao  and  Te,1  extending  to  over  5000 
words.  He  then  went  away,  and  no  one  knows  where 
he  died." 

It  is  clear  from  Ssu-ma  Ch'ien's  account  that  he  him- 
self had  never  seen  the  book,  though  a  dwindling 
minority  still  believe  that  we  possess  that  book  in  the 
we  1 1-kn  o wn  Tao-  T2-  Ching. 

It  must  now  be  stated  that  throughout  what  are  gene- 
rally believed  to  be  the  writings  of  Confucius  the  name 
of  Lao  Tzu  is  never  once  mentioned.2  It  is  not  men- 
tioned by  Tso  of  the  famous  commentary,  nor  by  the 
editors  of  the  Confucian  Analects,  nor  by  Tseng  Ts'an, 

1  Te  is  the  exemplification  of  Tao. 

*  The  name  Lao  Tan  occurs  in  four  passages  in  the  Book  of  Rites,  but  we 
are  expressly  told  that  by  it  is  not  meant  the  philosopher  Lao  Tzu. 


58  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

nor  by  Mencius.  Chuang  Tzu,  who  devoted  all  his 
energies  to  the  exposition  and  enforcement  of  the  teach- 
ing of  Lao  Tzu,  never  once  drops  even  a  hint  that  his 
Master  had  written  a  book.  In  his  work  will  now  be 
found  an  account  of  the  meeting  of  Confucius  and  Lao 
Tzu,  but  it  has  long  since  been  laughed  out  of  court  as  a 
pious  fraud  by  every  competent  Chinese  critic.  Chu  Hsi, 
Shen  Jo-shui,  and  many  others,  declare  emphatically 
against  the  genuineness  of  the  Tao-T$-Ching;  and  scant 
allusion  would  indeed  have  been  made  to  it  here,  were  it 
not  for  the  attention  paid  to  it  by  several  more  or  less 
eminent  foreign  students  of  the  language.  It  is  interest- 
ing as  a  collection  of  many  genuine  utterances  of  Lao 
Tzu,  sandwiched  however  between  thick  wads  of  padding 
from  which  little  meaning  can  be  extracted  except  by 
enthusiasts  who  curiously  enough  disagree  absolutely 
among  themselves.  A  few  examples  from  the  real  Lao 
Tzu  will  now  be  given  : — 

"The  Way  (Tao)  which  can  be  walked  upon  is  not  the 
eternal  Way." 

"  Follow  diligently  the  Way  in  your  own  heart,  but 
make  no  display  of  it  to  the  world." 

"  By  many  words  wit  is  exhausted ;  it  is  better  to  pre- 
serve a  mean." 

"To  the  good  I  would  be  good.  To  the  not-good  I 
would  also  be  good,  in  order  to  make  them  good." 

"  Recompense  injury  with  kindness." 

"  Put  yourself  behind,  and  you  shall  be  put  in  front." 

"Abandon  wisdom  and  discard  knowledge,  and  the 
people  will  be  benefited  an  hundredfold." 

These  last  maxims  are  supposed  to  illustrate  Lao  Tzu's 
favourite  doctrine  of  doing  nothing,  or,  as  it  has  been 
termed,  Inaction,  a  doctrine  inseparably  associated  with 


TAO-Tfi-CHING  59 

his  name,  and  one  which  has  ever  exerted  much  fascina- 
tion over  the  more  imaginative  of  his  countrymen.  It 
was  openly  enunciated  as  follows  : — 

"  Do  nothing,  and  all  things  will  be  done." 

"  I  do  nothing,  and  the  people  become  good  of  their 
own  accord." 

To  turn  to  the  padding,  as  rendered  by  the  late  Drs. 
Chalmers  and  Legge,  we  may  take  a  paragraph  which 
now  passes  as  chapter  vi. : — 

CHALMERS  : — "The  Spirit  (like  perennial  spring)  of  the 
valley  never  dies.  This  (Spirit)  I  call  the  abyss-mother. 
The  passage  of  the  abyss-mother  I  call  the  root  of  heaven 
and  earth.  Ceaselessly  it  seems  to  endure,  and  it  is 
employed  without  effort." 

LEGGE  : — "  The  valley  spirit  dies  not,  aye  the  same; 
The  female  mystery  thus  do  we  name. 
Its  gate,  from  which  at  first  they  issued  forth, 
Is  called  the  root  from  which  grew  heaven  and  earth. 
Long  and  unbroken  does  its  power  remain, 
Used  gently,  and  without  the  touch  ofpain.n 

One  more  example  from  Chalmers'  translation  will 
perhaps  seal  the  fate  of  this  book  with  readers  who 
claim  at  least  a  minimum  of  sense  from  an  old-world 

classic. 

"  Where  water  abides,  it  is  good  for  adaptability. 
In  its  heart,  it  is  good  for  depth. 
In  giving,  it  is  good  for  benevolence. 
In  speaking,  it  is  good  for  fidelity" 

That  there  was  such  a  philosopher  as  Lao  Tzu  who 
lived  about  the  time  indicated,  and  whose  sayings  have 
come  down  to  us  first  by  tradition  and  later  by  written 
and  printed  record,  cannot  possibly  be  doubted.  The 
great  work  of  Chuang  Tzu  would  be  sufficient  to  establish 


60  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

this  beyond  cavil,  while  at  the  same  time  it  forms  a  handy 
guide  to  a  nearer  appreciation  of  this  elusive  Tao. 

CHUANG  Tztf  was  born  in  the  fourth  century  B.C.,  and 
held  a  petty  official  post.  "  He  wrote,"  says  the  historian 
Ssu-ma  Ch'ien,  "with  a  view  to  asperse  the  Confucian 
school  and  to  glorify  the  mysteries  of  Lao  Tzu.  ...  His 
teachings  are  like  an  overwhelming  flood,  which  spreads 
at  its  own  sweet  will.  Consequently,  from  rulers  and 
ministers  downwards,  none  could  apply  them  to  any 
definite  use." 

Here  we  have  the  key  to  the  triumph  of  the  Tao  of 
Confucius  over  the  Tao  of  Lao  Tzu.  The  latter  was 
idealistic,  the  former  a  practical  system  for  everyday 
use.  And  Chuang  Tzu  was  unable  to  persuade  the 
calculating  Chinese  nation  that  by  doing  nothing, 
all  things  would  be  done.  But  he  bequeathed  to 
posterity  a  work  which,  by  reason  of  its  marvellous 
literary  beauty,  has  always  held  a  foremost  place.  It 
is  also  a  work  of  much  originality  of  thought.  The 
writer,  it  is  true,  appears  chiefly  as  a  disciple  insisting 
upon  the  principles  of  a  Master.  But  he  has  contrived 
to  extend  the  field,  and  carry  his  own  speculations  into 
regions  never  dreamt  of  by  Lao  Tzu. 

The  whole  work  of  Chuang  Tzu  has  not  come  down 
to  us,  neither  can  all  that  now  passes  under  his  name 
be  regarded  as  genuine.  Alien  hands  have  added,  vainly 
indeed,  many  passages  and  several  entire  chapters.  But 
a  sable  robe,  says  the  Chinese  proverb,  cannot  be  eked 
out  with  dogs'  tails.  Lin  Hsi-chung,  a  brilliant  critic 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  to  whose  edition  all  students 
should  turn,  has  shown  with  unerring  touch  where  the 
lion  left  off  and  the  jackals  began. 


CHUANG  TZO  61 

The  honour  of  the  first  edition  really  belongs  to  a 
volatile  spirit  of  the  third  century  A.D.,  named  Hsiang 
Hsiu.  He  was  probably  the  founder,  at  any  rate  a 
member,  of  a  small  club  of  bibulous  poets  who  called 
themselves  the  Seven  Sages  of  the  Bamboo  Grove. 
Death,  however,  interrupted  his  labours  before  he  had 
finished  his  work  on  Chuang  Tzu,  and  the  manuscript  was 
purloined  by  Kuo  Hsiang,  a  scholar  who  died  A.D.  312,  and 
with  some  additions  was  issued  by  the  latter  as  his  own. 

Before  attempting  to  illustrate  by  extracts  the  style 
and  scope  of  Chuang  Tzu,  it  will  be  well  to  collect  from 
his  work  a  few  passages  dealing  with  the  attributes  of 
Tao.  In  his  most  famous  chapter,  entitled  Autumn 
Floods,  a  name  by  which  he  himself  is  sometimes 
spoken  of,  Chuang  Tzu  writes  as  follows : — 

"Tao  is  without  beginning,  without  end."  Elsewhere 
he  says,  "There  is  nowhere  where  it  is  not."  "Tao  can- 
not be  heard;  heard,  it  is  not  Tao.  Tao  cannot  be  seen  ; 
seen,  it  is  not  Tao.  Tao  cannot  be  spoken;  spoken,  it 
is  not  Tao.  That  which  imparts  form  to  forms  is  itself 
formless ;  therefore  Tao  cannot  have  a  name  (as  form 
precedes  name)." 

"Tao  is  not  too  small  for  the  greatest,  nor  too  great 
for  the  smallest.  Thus  all  things  are  embosomed  therein ; 
wide,  indeed,  its  boundless  capacity,  unfathomable  its 
depth." 

"  By  no  thoughts,  by  no  cogitations,  Tao  may  be 
known.  By  resting  in  nothing,  by  according  in  nothing, 
Tao  may  be  approached.  By  following  nothing,  by 
pursuing  nothing,  Tao  may  be  attained." 

In  these  and  many  like  passages  Lao  Tzu  would  have 
been  in  full  sympathy  with  his  disciple.  So  far  as  it  is 
possible  to  deduce  anything  definite  from  the  scanty 


62  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

traditions  of  the  teachings  of  Lao  Tzu,  we  seem  to 
obtain  this,  that  man  should  remain  impassive  under 
the  operation  of  an  eternal,  omnipresent  law  (Tao),  and 
that  thus  he  will  become  in  perfect  harmony  with  his 
environment,  and  that  if  he  is  in  harmony  with  his 
environment,  he  will  thereby  attain  to  a  vague  condition 
of  general  immunity.  Beyond  this  the  teachings  of  Lao 
Tzu  would  not  carry  us.  Chuang  Tzu,  however,  from 
simple  problems,  such  as  a  drunken  man  falling  out  of 
a  cart  and  not  injuring  himself — a  common  superstition 
among  sailors — because  he  is  unconscious  and  there- 
fore in  harmony  with  his  environment,  slides  easily  into 
an  advanced  mysticism.  In  his  marvellous  chapter  on 
The  Identity  of  Contraries,  he  maintains  that  from  the 
standpoint  of  Tao  all  things  are  One.  Positive  and 
negative,  this  and  that,  here  and  there,  somewhere  and 
nowhere,  right  and  wrong,  vertical  and  horizontal,  sub- 
jective and  objective,  become  indistinct,  as  water  is  in 
water.  "  When  subjective  and  objective  are  both  with- 
out their  correlates,  that  is  the  very  axis  of  Tao.  And 
when  that  axis  passes  through  the  centre  at  which  all 
Infinities  converge,  positive  and  negative  alike  blend  into 
an  infinite  One."  This  localisation  in  a  Centre,  and  this 
infinite  absolute  represented  by  One,  were  too  concrete 
even  for  Chuang  Tzu.  The  One  became  God,  and  the 
Centre,  assigned  by  later  Taoist  writers  to  the  pole-star 
(see  Book  IV.  ch.  i.),  became  the  source  of  all  life  and 
the  haven  to  which  such  life  returned  after  its  transitory 
stay  on  earth.  By  ignoring  the  distinctions  of  contraries 
"we  are  embraced  in  the  obliterating  unity  of  God. 
Take  no  heed  of  time,  nor  of  right  and  wrong  ;  but 
passing  into  the  realm  of  the  Infinite,  make  your  final 
rest  therein." 


CHUANG  TZO  63 

That  the  idea  of  an  indefinite  future  state  was  familiar 
to  the  mind  of  Chuang  Tzu  may  be  gathered  from  many 
passages  such  as  the  following  : — 

"  How  then  do  I  know  but  that  the  dead  repent  of 
having  previously  clung  to  life  ? 

"Those  who  dream  of  the  banquet,  wake  to  lamenta- 
tion and  sorrow.  Those  who  dream  of  lamentation 
and  sorrow,  wake  to  join  the  hunt.  While  they  dream, 
they  do  not  know  that  they  dream.  Some  will  even 
interpret  the  very  dream  they  are  dreaming ;  and  only 
when  they  awake  do  they  know  it  was  a  dream.  By 
and  by  comes  the  Great  Awakening,  and  then  we  find 
out  that  this  life  is  really  a  great  dream.  Fools  think 
they  are  awake  now,  and  flatter  themselves  they  know  if 
they  are  really  princes  or  peasants.  Confucius  and 
you  are  both  dreams ;  and  I  who  say  you  are  dreams, 
— I  am  but  a  dream  myself." 

The  chapter  closes  with  a  paragraph  which  has 
gained  for  its  writer  an  additional  epithet,  Butterfly 
Chuang  : — 

,  "Once  upon  a  time,  I,  Chuang  Tzu,  dreamt  I  was  a 
butterfly,  fluttering  hither  and  thither,  to  all  intents  and 
purposes  a  butterfly.  I  was  conscious  only  of  following 
my  fancies  as  a  butterfly,  and  was  unconscious  of  my  in- 
dividuality as  a  man.  Suddenly,  I  awaked,  and  there  I 
lay,  myself  again.  Now  I  do  not  know  whether  I  was 
then  a  man  dreaming  I  was  a  butterfly,  or  whether  I  am 
now  a  butterfly  dreaming  I  am  a  man." 

Chuang  Tzu  is  fond  of  paradox.  He  delights  in 
dwelling  on  the  usefulness  of  useless  things.  He  shows 
that  ill-grown  or  inferior  trees  are  allowed  to  stand,  that 
diseased  pigs  are  not  killed  for  sacrifice,  and  that  a 
hunchback  can  not  only  make  a  good  living  by  wash' 


64  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

ing,  for  which  a  bent  body  is  no  drawback,  but  escapes 
the  dreaded  press-gang  in  time  of  war. 

With  a  few  illustrative  extracts  we  must  now  take 
leave  of  Chuang  Tzu,  a  writer  who,  although  heterodox 
in  the  eyes  of  a  Confucianist,  has  always  been  justly 
esteemed  for  his  pointed  wit  and  charming  style. 

(i.)  "  It  was  the  time  of  autumn  floods.  Every  stream 
poured  into  the  river,  which  swelled  in  its  turbid  course. 
The  banks  receded  so  far  from  one  another  that  it  was 
impossible  to  tell  a  cow  from  a  horse. 

"Then  the  Spirit  of  the  River  laughed  for  joy  that  all 
the  beauty  of  the  earth  was  gathered  to  himself.  Down 
with  the  stream  he  journeyed  east,  until  he  reached  the 
ocean.  There,  looking  eastwards  and  seeing  no  limit 
to  its  waves,  his  countenance  changed.  And  as  he 
gazed  over  the  expanse,  he  sighed  and  said  to  the  Spirit 
of  the  Ocean,  '  A  vulgar  proverb  says,  that  he  who  has 
heard  but  part  of  the  truth  thinks  no  one  equal  to  him- 
self. And  such  a  one  am  I. 

"'When  formerly  I  heard  people  detracting  from  the 
learning  of  Confucius,  or  underrating  the  heroism  of 
Po  I,  I  did  not  believe.  But  now  that  I  have  looked 
upon  your  inexhaustibility  —  alas  for  me  had  I  not 
reached  your  abode,  I  should  have  been  for  ever  a 
laughing-stock  to  those  of  comprehensive  enlighten- 
ment !' 

"  To  which  the  Spirit  of  the  Ocean  replied,  '  You  can- 
not speak  of  ocean  to  a  well-frog, — the  creature  of  a 
narrower  sphere.  You  cannot  speak  of  ice  to  a  summer- 
insect, — the  creature  of  a  season.  You  cannot  speak  oi 
Tao  to  a  pedagogue  :  his  scope  is  too  restricted.  But 
now  that  you  have  emerged  from  your  narrow  sphere 


CHUANG  TZO  65 

and  have  seen  the  great  ocean,  you  know  your  own 
insignificance,  and  I  can  speak  to  you  of  great 
principles.' " 

(2.)  "  Have  you  never  heard  of  the  frog  in  the  old 
well  ? — The  frog  said  to  the  turtle  of  the  eastern  sea, 
*  Happy  indeed  am  I  !  I  hop  on  to  the  rail  around  the 
well.  I  rest  in  the  hollow  of  some  broken  brick.  Swim- 
ming, I  gather  the  water  under  my  arms  and  shut 
my  mouth.  I  plunge  into  the  mud,  burying  my  feet  and 
toes ;  and  not  one  of  the  cockles,  crabs,  or  tadpoles  I  see 
around  me  are  my  match.  [Fancy  pitting  the  happiness 
of  an  old  well,  ejaculates  Chuang  Tzu,  against  all  the 
water  of  Ocean  !]  Why  do  you  not  come,  sir,  and  pay 
me  a  visit  ? ' l 

"  Now  the  turtle  of  the  eastern  sea  had  not  got  its  lefl 
leg  down  ere  its  right  had  already  stuck  fast,  so  it  shrank 
back  and  begged  to  be  excused.  It  then  described 
the  sea,  saying,  'A  thousand  /*  would  not  measure  its 
breadth,  nor  a  thousand  fathoms  its  depth.  In  the  days 
of  the  Great  Yii,  there  were  nine  years  of  flood  out  of 
ten ;  but  this  did  not  add  to  its  bulk.  In  the  days  of 
T'ang,  there  were  seven  years  out  of  eight  of  drought ; 
but  this  did  not  narrow  its  span.  Not  to  be  affected  by 
duration  of  time,  not  to  be  affected  by  volume  of  water, — 
such  is  the  great  happiness  of  the  eastern  sea.' 

"At  this  the  well-frog  was  considerably  astonished, 
and  knew  not  what  to  say  next.  And  for  one  whose 
knowledge  does  not  reach  to  the  positive-negative  domain, 
to  attempt  to  understand  me,  Chuang  Tzu,  is  like  a 

1  "To  the  minnow,  every  cranny  and  pebble  and  quality  and  accident  of  its 
little  native  creek  may  have  become  familiar ;  but  does  the  minnow  under- 
stand the  ocean  tides  and  periodic  currents,  the  trade-winds,  and  monsoons, 
and  moon's  eclipses  .  .  .?" — Sartor  Resartus,  Natural  Supernaturalism. 


66  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

mosquito  trying  to  carry  a  mountain,  or  an  ant  to  swim 
a  river, — they  cannot  succeed." 

(3.)  "Chuang  Tzu  was  fishing  in  the  P'u  when  the 
prince  of  Ch'u  sent  two  high  officials  to  ask  him  to  take 
charge  of  the  administration  of  the  Ch'u  State. 

"Chuang  Tzu  went  on  fishing,  and  without  turning 
his  head  said,  *  I  have  heard  that  in  Ch'u  there  is  a  sacred 
tortoise  which  has  been  dead  now  some  three  thousand 
years.  And  that  the  prince  keeps  this  tortoise  carefully 
enclosed  in  a  chest  on  the  altar  of  his  ancestral  temple. 
Now  would  this  tortoise  rather  be  dead,  and  have  its 
remains  venerated,  or  be  alive  and  wagging  its  tail  in 
the  mud  ? ' 

" '  It  would  rather  be  alive,'  replied  the  two  officials, 
'  and  wagging  its  tail  in  the  mud.' 

" '  Begone  ! '  cried  Chuang  Tzu.  '  I  too  will  wag  my 
tail  in  the  mud.'  " 

(4.)  "Chuang  Tzu  one  day  saw  an  empty  skull,  bleached, 
but  still  preserving  its  shape.  Striking  it  with  his  riding 
whip,  he  said,  'Wert  thou  once  some  ambitious  citizen 
whose  inordinate  yearnings  brought  him  to  this  pass  ? — 
some  statesman  who  plunged  his  country  in  ruin,  and 
perished  in  the  fray  ? — some  wretch  who  left  behind  him 
a  legacy  of  shame  ? — some  beggar  who  died  in  the  pangs 
of  hunger  and  cold  ?  Or  didst  thou  reach  this  state  by 
the  natural  course  of  old  age  ? ' 

"When  he  had  finished  speaking,  he  took  the  skull, 
and  placing  it  under  his  head  as  a  pillow,  went  to  sleep. 
In  the  night,  he  dreamt  that  the  skull  appeared  to  him, 
and  said,  '  You  speak  well,  sir ;  but  all  you  say  has 
reference  to  the  life  of  mortals,  and  to  mortal  troubles. 
In  death  there  are  none  of  these.  Would  you  like  to 
hear  about  death  ? ' 


CHUANG  TZO  67 

"  Chuang  Tzu  having  replied  in  the  affirmative,  the 
skull  began  : — '  In  death,  there  is  no  sovereign  above, 
itnd  no  subject  below.  The  workings  of  the  four  seasons 
are  unknown.  Our  existences  are  bounded  only  by 
eternity.  The  happiness  of  a  king  among  men  cannot 
exceed  that  which  we  enjoy.' 

"  Chuang  Tzu,  however,  was  not  convinced,  and  said, 
'  Were  I  to  prevail  upon  God  to  allow  your  body  to  be 
born  again,  and  your  bones  and  flesh  to  be  renewed,  so 
that  you  could  return  to  your  parents,  to  your  wife,  and 
to  the  friends  of  your  youth — would  you  be  willing  ? ' 

"At  this,  the  skull  opened  its  eyes  wide  and  knitted  its 
brows  and  said,  '  How  should  I  cast  aside  happiness 
greater  than  that  of  a  king,  and  mingle  once  again  in  the 
toils  and  troubles  of  mortality  ?  ' ' 

(5.)  "  The  Grand  Augur,  in  his  ceremonial  robes,  ap- 
proached the  shambles  and  thus  addressed  the  pigs  : — 

" '  How  can  you  object  to  die  ?  I  shall  fatten  you  for 
three  months.  I  shall  discipline  myself  for  ten  days  and 
fast  for  three.  I  shall  strew  fine  grass,  and  place  you 
bodily  upon  a  carved  sacrificial  dish.  Does  not  this 
satisfy  you  ? ' 

"  Then  speaking  from  the  pigs'  point  of  view,  he  con- 
tinued, '  It  is  better  perhaps  after  all  to  live  on  bran  and 
escape  the  shambles.  .  .  .' 

" '  But  then,'  added  he,  speaking  from  his  own  point 
of  view,  '  to  enjoy  honour  when  alive  one  would  readily 
die  on  a  war-shield  or  in  the  headsman's  basket.' 

"  So  he  rejected  the  pigs'  point  of  view  and  adopted  his 
own  point  of  view.  In  what  sense  then  was  he  different 
from  the  pigs  ?  " 

(6.)  "  When  Chuang  Tzu  was  about  to  die,  his  disciples 
expressed  a  wish  to  give  him  a  splendid  funeral.  But 


68  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

Chuang  Tzii  said,  '  With  heaven  and  earth  for  my  coffin 
and  shell,  with  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  as  my  burial 
regalia,  and  with  all  creation  to  escort  me  to  the  grave, — 
are  not  my  funeral  paraphernalia  ready  to  hand  ?  ' 

"  '  We  fear/  argued  the  disciples,  '  lest-  the  carrion  kite 
should  eat  the  body  of  our  Master ' ;  to  which  Chuang 
Tzu  replied,  'Above  ground  I  shall  be  food  for  kites, 
below  I  shall  be  food  for  mole-crickets  and  ants.  Why 
rob  one  to  feed  the  other  ? '  " 

The  works  of  LIEH  TztJ,  in  two  thin  volumes,  may  be 
procured  at  any  Chinese  book-shop.  These  volumes 
profess  to  contain  the  writings  of  a  Taoist  philosopher 
who  flourished  seme  years  before  Chuang  Tzii,  and  for 
a  long  time  they  received  considerable  attention  at  the 
hands  of  European  students,  into  whose  minds  no 
suspicion  of  their  real  character  seems  to  have  found  its 
way.  Gradually  the  work  came  to  be  looked  upon  as 
doubtful,  then  spurious ;  and  now  it  is  known  to  be  a 
forgery,  possibly  of  the  first  or  second  century  A.D. 
The  scholar — for  he  certainly  was  one — who  took  the 
trouble  to  forge  this  work,  was  himself  the  victim  of  a 
strange  delusion.  He  thought  that  Lieh  Tzu,  to  whom 
Chuang  Tzii  devotes  a  whole  chapter,  had  been  a  live 
philosopher  of  flesh  and  blood.  But  he  was  in  reality 
nothing  more  than  a  figment  of  the  imagination,  like 
many  others  of  Chuang  Tzu's  characters,  though  his 
name  was  less  broadly  allegorical  than  those  of  All-in- 
Extremes,  and  of  Do-Nothing-Say-Nothing,  and  others. 
The  book  attributed  to  him  is  curious  enough  to  deserve 
attention.  It  is  on  a  lower  level  of  thought  and  style 
than  the  work  of  Chuang  Tzu  ;  still,  it  contains  much 
traditional  matter  and  many  allusions  not  found  else- 


LIEH  TZO  69 

where.  To  its  author  we  owe  the  famous,  but  of  course 
apocryphal,  story  of  Confucius  meeting  two  boys 
quarrelling  about  the  distance  of  the  sun  from  the 
earth.  One  of  them  said  that  at  dawn  the  sun  was 
much  larger  than  at  noon,  and  must  consequently  be 
much  nearer  ;  but  the  other  retorted  that  at  noon  the 
sun  was  much  hotter,  and  therefore  nearer  than  at  dawn. 
Confucius  confessed  himself  unable  to  decide  between 
them,  and  was  jeered  at  by  the  boys  as  an  impostor. 
But  of  all  this  work  perhaps  the  most  attractive  portion 
is  a  short  story  on  Dream  and  Reality  : — 

"  A  man  of  the  State  of  Cheng  was  one  day  gathering 
fuel,  when  he  came  across  a  startled  deer,  which  he 
pursued  and  killed.  Fearing  lest  any  one  should  see 
him,  he  hastily  concealed  the  carcass  in  a  ditch  and 
covered  it  with  plaintain  leaves,  rejoicing  excessively  at 
his  good  fortune.  By  and  by,  he  forgot  the  place  where 
he  had  put  it,  and,  thinking  he  must  have  been  dream- 
ing, he  set  off  towards  home,  humming  over  the  affair 
on  his  way. 

"  Meanwhile,  a  man  who  had  overheard  his  words, 
acted  upon  them,  and  went  and  got  the  deer.  The 
latter,  when  he  reached  his  house,  told  his  wife,  saying, 
'A  woodman  dreamt  he  had  got  a  deer,  but  he  did  not 
know  where  it  was.  Now  I  have  got  the  deer ;  so  his 
dream  was  a  reality.'  '  It  is  you,'  replied  his  wife,  'who 
have  been  dreaming  you  saw  a  woodman.  Did  he  get 
the  deer  ?  and  is  there  really  such  a  person  ?  It  is  you 
who  have  got  the  deer  :  how,  then,  can  his  dream  be  a 
reality?'  'It  is  true/  assented  the  husband,  'that  I 
have  got  the  deer.  It  is  therefore  of  little  importance 
whether  the  woodman  dreamt  the  deer  or  I  dreamt  the 
woodman.' 


TO  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

"Now  when  the  woodman  reached  his  home,  he  be« 
came  much  annoyed  at  the  loss  of  the  deer  ;  and  in  the 
night  he  actually  dreamt  where  the  deer  then  was,  and 
who  had  got  it.  So  next  morning  he  proceeded  to  the 
place  indicated  in  his  dream, — and  there  it  was.  He  then 
took  legal  steps  to  recover  possession  ;  and  when  the 
case  came  on,  the  magistrate  delivered  the  following 
judgment : — '  The  plaintiff  began  with  a  real  deer  and  an 
alleged  dream.  He  now  comes  forward  with  a  real 
dream  and  an  alleged  deer.  The  defendant  really  got 
the  deer  which  plaintiff  said  he  dreamt,  and  is  now 
trying  to  keep  it ;  while,  according  to  his  wife,  both  the 
woodman  and  the  deer  are  but  the  figments  of  a  dream, 
so  that  no  one  got  the  deer  at  all.  However,  here  is  a 
deer,  which  you  had  better  divide  between  you.' " 

HAN  FBI  TzO,  who  died  B.C.  233,  has  left  us  fifty-five 
essays  of  considerable  value,  partly  for  the  light  they 
throw  upon  the  connection  between  the  genuine  sayings 
of  Lao  Tzu  and  the  Tao-Te-Ching,  and  partly  for  the  quaint 
illustrations  he  gives  of  the  meaning  of  the  sayings 
themselves.  He  was  deeply  read  in  law,  and  obtained 
favour  in  the  eyes  of  the  First  Emperor  (see  Book  II., 
ch.  i.) ;  but  misrepresentations  of  rivals  brought  about 
his  downfall,  and  he  committed  suicide  in  prison.  We 
cannot  imagine  that  he  had  before  him  the  Tao-Te- 
Ching.  He  deals  with  many  of  its  best  sayings,  which 
may  well  have  come  originally  from  an  original  teacher, 
such  as  Lao  Tzu  is  supposed  to  have  been,  but  quite  at 
random  and  not  as  if  he  took  them  from  an  orderly 
work.  And  what  is  more,  portions  of  his  own  com- 
mentary have  actually  slipped  into  the  Tao-Te-Ching  as 
text,  showing  how  this  book  was  pieced  together  from 


HAN  FEI  TZO  71 

various  sources.  Again,  he  quotes  sentences  not  to  be 
found  in  the  Tao-T£-Ching.  He  illustrates  such  a 
simple  saying  as  "  To  see  small  beginnings  is  clearness 
of  sight,"  by  drawing  attention  to  a  man  who  foresaw, 
when  the  tyrant  Chou  Hsin  (who  died  B.C.  1122)  took  to 
ivory  chopsticks,  that  the  tide  of  luxury  had  set  in,  to 
bring  licentiousness  and  cruelty  in  its  train,  and  to 
end  in  downfall  and  death. 

Lao  Tzu  said,  "  Leave  all  things  to  take  their  natural 
course."  To  this  Han  Fei  Tzu  adds,  "A  man  spent 
three  years  in  carving  a  leaf  out  of  ivory,  of  such  elegant 
and  detailed  workmanship  that  it  would  lie  undetected 
among  a  heap  of  real  leaves.  But  Lieh  Tzu  said,  '  If 
God  Almighty  were  to  spend  three  years  over  every  leaf, 
the  trees  would  be  badly  off  for  foliage.'" 

Lao  Tzu  said,  "  The  wise  man  takes  time  by  the  fore- 
lock." Han  Fei  Tzu  adds,  "One  day  the  Court  physician 
said  to  Duke  Huan,  '  Your  Grace  is  suffering  from  an 
affection  of  the  muscular  system.  Take  care,  or  it  may 
become  serious.'  '  Oh  no/  replied  the  Duke,  '  I  have 
nothing  the  matter  with  me  ;'  and  when  the  physician 
was  gone,  he  observed  to  his  courtiers,  '  Doctors  dearly 
love  to  treat  patients  who  are  not  ill,  and  then  make 
capital  out  of  the  cure.'  Ten  days  afterwards,  the  Court 
physician  again  remarked,  '  Your  Grace  has  an  affection 
of  the  flesh.  Take  care,  or  it  may  become  serious.' 
The  Duke  took  no  notice  of  this,  but  after  ten  days 
more  the  physician  once  more  observed,  '  Your  Grace 
has  an  affection  of  the  viscera.  Take  care,  or  it  may 
become  serious.'  Again  the  Duke  paid  no  heed  ;  and 
ten  days  later,  when  the  physician  came,  he  simply 
looked  at  his  royal  patient,  and  departed  without  saying 
anything.  The  Duke  sent  some  one  to  inquire  what 


72  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

was  the  matter,  and  to  him  the  physician  said,  '  As  long 
as  the  disease  was  in  the  muscles,  it  might  have  been 
met  by  fomentations  and  hot  applications  ;  when  it  was 
in  the  flesh,  acupuncture  might  have  been  employed ; 
and  as  long  as  it  was  in  the  viscera,  cauterisation  might 
have  been  tried ;  but  now  it  is  in  the  bones  and  mar- 
row, and  naught  will  avail.'  Five  days  later,  the  Duke 
felt  pains  all  over  his  body,  and  sent  to  summon  his 
physician  ;  but  the  physician  had  fled,  and  the  Duke 
died.  So  it  is  that  the  skilful  doctor  attacks  disease 
while  it  is  still  in  the  muscles  and  easy  to  deal  with." 

To  clear  off  finally  this  school  of  early  Taoist  writers, 
it  will  be  necessary  to  admit  here  one  whose  life  pro- 
perly belongs  to  the  next  period.  Liu  An,  a  grandson 
of  the  founder  of  the  Han  dynasty,  became  Prince  of 
Huai-nan,  and  it  is  as  HUAI-NAN  Tztr,  the  Philosopher 
of  that  ilk,  that  he  is  known  to  the  Chinese  people.  He 
wrote  an  esoteric  work  in  twenty-one  chapters,  which  we 
are  supposed  still  to  possess,  besides  many  exoteric  works, 
such  as  a  treatise  on  alchemy,  none  of  which  are  extant. 
It  is  fairly  certain,  however,  that  alchemy  was  not 
known  to  the  Chinese  until  between  two  and  three 
centuries  later,  when  it  was  introduced  from  the  West. 
As  to  the  book  which  passes  under  his  name,  it  is 
difficult  to  assign  to  it  any  exact  date.  Like  the  work 
of  Lieh  Tzu,  it  is  interesting  enough  in  itself ;  and  what 
is  more  important,  it  marks  the  transition  of  the  pure 
and  simple  Way  of  Lao  Tzu,  etherealised  by  Chuang 
Tzu,  to  the  grosser  beliefs  of  later  ages  in  magicians  and 
the  elixir  of  life.  Lao  Tzu  urged  his  fellow-mortals  to 
guard  their  vitality  by  entering  into  harmony  with  their 
environment.  Chuang  Tzu  added  a  motive,  "to  pass 


HUAI-NAN  TZO  73 

into  the  realm  of  the  Infinite  and  make  one's  final  rest 
therein."  From  which  it  is  but  a  step  to  immortality 
and  the  elixir  of  life. 

Huai-nan  Tzu  begins  with  a  lengthy  disquisition  "On 
the  Nature  of  Tao,"  in  which,  as  elsewhere,  he  deals  with 
the  sayings  of  Lao  Tzii  after  the  fashion  of  Han  Fei 
Tzu.  Thus  Lao  Tzu  said,  "  If  you  do  not  quarrel,  no 
one  on  earth  will  be  able  to  quarrel  with  you."  To  this 
Huai-nan  Tzu  adds,  that  when  a  certain  ruler  was  be- 
sieging an  enemy's  town,  a  large  part  of  the  wall  fell 
down  ;  whereupon  the  former  gave  orders  to  beat  a 
retreat  at  once.  "  For,"  said  he  in  reply  to  the  remon- 
strances of  his  officers,  "  a  gentleman  never  hits  a  man 
who  is  down.  Let  them  rebuild  their  wall,  and  then  we 
will  renew  the  attack."  This  noble  behaviour  so  de- 
lighted the  enemy  that  they  tendered  allegiance  on  the 
spot. 

Lao  Tzu  said,  "  Do  not  value  the  man,  value  his 
abilities."  Whereupon  Huai-nan  Tzu  tells  a  story  of 
a  general  of  the  Ch'u  State  who  was  fond  of  sur- 
rounding himself  with  men  of  ability,  and  once  even 
went  so  far  as  to  engage  a  man  who  represented  himself 
as  a  master-thief.  His  retainers  were  aghast ;  but  shortly 
afterwards  their  State  was  attacked  by  the  Ch'i  State,  and 
then,  when  fortune  was  adverse  and  all  was  on  the  point 
of  being  lost,  the  master-thief  begged  to  be  allowed  to 
try  his  skill.  He  went  by  night  into  the  enemy's  camp, 
and  stole  their  general's  bed-curtain.  This  was  returned 
next  morning  with  a  message  that  it  had  been  found  by 
one  of  the  soldiers  who  was  gathering  fuel.  The  same 
night  our  master-thief  stole  the  general's  pillow,  which 
was  restored  with  a  similar  message  ;  and  the  following 
night  he  stole  the  long  pin  used  to  secure  the  hair. 


74  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

"  Good  heavens  !  "  cried  the  general  at  a  council  of  war, 
"  they  will  have  my  head  next."  Upon  which  the  army 
of  the  Ch'i  State  was  withdrawn. 

Among  passages  of  general  interest  the  following  may 
well  be  quoted  : — 

"Once  when  the  Duke  of  Lu-yang  was  at  war  with 
the  Han  State,  and  sunset  drew  near  while  a  battle  was 
still  fiercely  raging,  the  Duke  held  up  his  spear,  and 
shook  it  at  the  sun,  which  forthwith  went  back  three 
zodiacal  signs." 

The  end  of  this  philosopher  was  a  tragic  one.  He 
seems  to  have  mixed  himself  up  in  some  treasonable 
enterprise,  and  was  driven  to  commit  suicide.  Tradition, 
however,  says  that  he  positively  discovered  the  elixir  of 
immortality,  and  that  after  drinking  of  it  he  rose  up  to 
heaven  in  broad  daylight.  Also  that,  in  his  excitement, 
he  dropped  the  vessel  which  had  contained  this  elixir 
into  his  courtyard,  and  that  his  dogs  and  poultry  sipped 
up  the  dregs,  and  immediately  sailed  up  to  heaven  after 
him  1 


BOOK  THE  SECOND 
THE  HAN  DYNASTY  (B.C.  200-A.D.  200) 


BOOK  THE  SECOND 
THE  HAN  DYNASTY  (B.C.  2oo-A.D.  200) 

CHAPTER  I 

THE   "FIRST   EMPEROR"— THE   BURNING   OF 
THE  BOOKS— MISCELLANEOUS  WRITERS 

NEVER  has  the  literature  of  any  country  been  more 
closely  bound  up  with  the  national  history  than  was 
that  of  China  at  the  beginning  of  the  period  upon  which 
we  are  now  about  to  enter. 

The  feudal  spirit  had  long  since  declined,  and  the 
bond  between  suzerain  and  vassal  had  grown  weaker 
and  weaker  until  at  length  it  had  ceased  to  exist.  Then 
came  the  opportunity  and  the  man.  The  ruler  of  the 
powerful  State  of  Ch'in,  after  gradually  vanquishing  and 
absorbing  such  of  the  other  rival  States  as  had  not 
already  been  swallowed  up  by  his  own  State,  found 
himself  in  B.C.  221  master  of  the  whole  of  China,  and 
forthwith  proclaimed  himself  its  Emperor.  The  Chou 
dynasty,  with  its  eight  hundred  years  of  sway,  was  a 
thing  of  the  past,  and  the  whole  fabric  of  feudalism 
melted  easily  away. 

This  catastrophe  was  by  no  means  unexpected.     Some 

forty  years  previously  a  politician,  named  Su  Tai,  was 

11 


78  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

one  day  advising  the  King  of  Chao  to  put  an  end  to  his 
ceaseless  hostilities  with  the  Yen  State.  "  This  morning," 
said  he,  "  when  crossing  the  river,  I  saw  a  mussel  open 
its  shell  to  sun  itself.  Immediately  an  oyster-catcher 
thrust  in  his  bill  to  eat  the  mussel,  but  the  latter 
promptly  closed  its  shell  and  held  the  bird  fast.  '  If  it 
doesn't  rain  to-day  or  to-morrow/  cried  the  oyster- 
catcher,  'there  will  be  a  dead  mussel.'  'And  if  you 
don't  get  out  of  this  by  to-day  or  to-morrow,'  retorted 
the  mussel,  '  there  will  be  a  dead  oyster-catcher.'  Mean- 
while up  came  a  fisherman  and  carried  off  both  of  them. 
I  fear  lest  the  Ch'in  State  should  be  our  fisherman." 

The  new  Emperor  was  in  many  senses  a  great  man, 
and  civilisation  made  considerable  advances  during  his 
short  reign.  But  a  single  decree  has  branded  his  name 
with  infamy,  to  last  so  long  as  the  Chinese  remain  a 
lettered  people.  In  B.C.  13,  a  trusted  Minister,  named 
Li  Ssu,  is  said  to  have  suggested  an  extraordinary  plan, 
by  which  the  claims  of  antiquity  were  to  be  for  ever 
blotted  out  and  history  was  to  begin  again  with  the 
ruling  monarch,  thenceforward  to  be  famous  as  the 
First  Emperor.  All  existing  literature  was  to  be  de- 
stroyed, with  the  exception  only  of  works  relating  to 
agriculture,  medicine,  and  divination  ;  and  a  penalty  of 
branding  and  four  years'  work  on  the  Great  Wall,  then 
in  process  of  building,  was  enacted  against  all  who 
refused  to  surrender  their  books  for  destruction.  This 
plan  was  carried  out  with  considerable  vigour.  Many 
valuable  works  perished;  and  the  Confucian  Canon 
would  have  been  irretrievably  lost  but  for  the  devotion 
of  scholars,  who  at  considerable  risk  concealed  the 
tablets  by  which  they  set  such  store,  and  thus  made 
possible  the  discoveries  of  the  following  century  and  the 


LI  SSO  79 

restoration  of  the  sacred  text.  So  many,  indeed,  of  the 
literati  are  said  to  have  been  put  to  death  for  dis- 
obedience that  melons  actually  grew  in  winter  on  the 
spot  beneath  which  their  bodies  were  buried. 

Li  SsO  was  a  scholar  himself,  and  the  reputed  inventor 
of  the  script  known  as  the  Lesser  Seal,  which  was  in 
vogue  for  several  centuries.  The  following  is  from  a 
memorial  of  his  against  the  proscription  of  nobles  and 
others  from  rival  States  : — 

"  As  broad  acres  yield  large  crops,  so  for  a  nation  to 
be  great  there  should  be  a  great  population  ;  and  for 
soldiers  to  be  daring  their  generals  should  be  brave. 
Not  a  single  clod  was  added  to  T'ai-shan  in  vain  :  hence 
the  huge  mountain  we  now  behold.  The  merest  stream- 
let is  received  into  the  bosom  of  Ocean  :  hence  the 
Ocean's  unfathomable  expanse.  And  wise  and  virtuous 
is  the  ruler  who  scorns  not  the  masses  below.  For 
him,  no  boundaries  of  realm,  no  distinctions  of  nation- 
ality exist.  The  four  seasons  enrich  him ;  the  Gods 
bless  him  ;  and,  like  our  rulers  of  old,  no  man's  hand  is 
against  him." 

The  First  Emperor  died  in  B.C.  2IO,1  and  his  feeble 
son,  the  Second  Emperor,  was  put  to  death  in  207,  thus 
bringing  their  line  to  an  end.  The  vacant  throne  was 
won  by  a  quondam  beadle,  who  established  the  glorious 
House  of  Han,  in  memory  of  which  Chinese  of  the 
present  day,  chiefly  in  the  north,  are  still  proud  to  call 
themselves  Sons  of  Han. 

So  soon  as  the  empire  settled  down  to  comparative 
peace,  a  mighty  effort  was  made  to  undo  at  least  some  of 
the  mischief  sustained  by  the  national  literature.  An 

1  An  account  of  the  mausoleum  built  to  receive  his  remains  will  be  found 
in  Chapter  iii.  of  this  Book. 


8o  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

extra  impetus  was  given  to  this  movement  by  the  fact 
that  under  the  First  Emperor,  if  we  can  believe  tradition, 
the  materials  of  writing  had  undergone  a  radical  change. 
A  general,  named  Meng  T'ien,  added  to  the  triumphs  of 
the  sword  the  invention  of  the  camel's-hair  brush,  which 
the  Chinese  use  as  a  pen.  The  clumsy  bamboo  tablet 
and  stylus  were  discarded,  and  strips  of  cloth  or  silk 
came  into  general  use,  and  were  so  employed  until  the 
first  century  A.D.,  when  paper  was  invented  by  Ts'ai  Lun. 
Some  say  that  brickdust  and  water  did  duty  at  first  for 
ink.  However  that  may  be,  the  form  of  the  written 
character  underwent  a  corresponding  change  to  suit  the 
materials  employed. 

Meanwhile,  books  were  brought  out  cf  their  hiding- 
places,  and  scholars  like  K'UNG  AN-KUO,  a  descendant  of 
Confucius  in  the  twelfth  degree,  set  to  work  to  restore  the 
lost  classics.  He  deciphered  the  text  of  the  Book  of 
History,  which  had  been  discovered  when  pulling  down 
the  old  house  where  Confucius  once  lived,  and  tran- 
scribed large  portions  of  it  from  the  ancient  into  the  later 
script.  He  also  wrote  a  commentary  on  the  Analects 
and  another  on  the  Filial  Piety  Classic. 

CH'AO  TsfO  (perished  B.C.  155),  popularly  known  as 
Wisdom-Bag,  was  a  statesman  rather  than  an  author. 
Still,  many  of  his  memorials  to  the  throne  were  considered 
masterpieces,  and  have  been  preserved  accordingly.  He 
wrote  on  the  military  operations  against  the  Huns,  plead- 
ing for  the  employment  of  frontier  tribes,  "  barbarians, 
who  in  point  of  food  and  skill  are  closely  allied  to  the 
Huns."  "But  arms,"  he  says,  "are  a  curse,  and  war 
is  a  dread  thing.  For  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  the 
mighty  may  be  humbled,  and  the  strong  may  be  brought 


CHAD  TS'O— LI  LING  81 

low."  In  an  essay  "On  the  Value  of  Agriculture"  he 
writes  thus  : — 

"  Crime  begins  in  poverty ;  poverty  in  insufficiency 
of  food ;  insufficiency  of  food  in  neglect  of  agriculture. 
Without  agriculture,  man  has  no  tie  to  bind  him  to 
the  soil.  Without  such  tie  he  readily  leaves  his  birth- 
place and  his  home.  He  is  like  unto  the  birds  of  the 
air  or  the  beasts  of  the  field.  Neither  battlemented 
cities,  nor  deep  moats,  nor  harsh  laws,  nor  cruel  punish- 
ments, can  subdue  this  roving  spirit  that  is  strong  within 
him. 

"  He  who  is  cold  examines  not  the  quality  of  cloth  ; 
he  who  is  hungry  tarries  not  for  choice  meats.  When 
cold  and  hunger  come  upon  men,  honesty  and  shame 
depart.  As  man  is  constituted,  he  must  eat  twice  daily, 
or  hunger  ;  he  must  wear  clothes,  or  be  cold.  And  if  the 
stomach  cannot  get  food  and  the  body  clothes,  the  love 
of  the  fondest  mother  cannot  keep  her  children  at  her 
side.  How  then  should  a  sovereign  keep  his  subjects 
gathered  around  him  ? 

"The  wise  ruler  knows  this.  Therefore  he  concen- 
trates the  energies  of  his  people  upon  agriculture.  He 
levies  light  taxes.  He  extends  the  system  of  grain  storage, 
to  provide  for  his  subjects  at  times  when  their  resources 
fail." 

The  name  of  Li  LING  (second  and  first  centuries  B.C.) 
is  a  familiar  one  to  every  Chinese  schoolboy.  He  was  a 
military  official  who  was  sent  in  command  of  800  horse 
to  reconnoitre  the  territory  of  the  Huns  ;  and  returning 
successful  from  this  expedition,  he  was  promoted  to  a 
high  command  and  was  again  employed  against  these 
troublesome  neighbours.  With  a  force  of  only  5000 


82  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

infantry  he  penetrated  into  the  Hun  territory  as  far  as 
Mount  Ling-chi  (?),  where  he  was  surrounded  by  an 
army  of  30,000  of  the  Khan's  soldiers ;  and  when  his 
troops  had  exhausted  all  their  arrows,  he  was  forced  to 
surrender.  At  this  the  Emperor  was  furious ;  and  later 
on,  when  he  heard  that  Li  Ling  was  training  the  Khan's 
soldiers  in  the  art  of  war  as  then  practised  by  the 
Chinese,  he  caused  his  mother,  wife,  and  children  to  be 
put  to  death.  Li  Ling  remained  some  twenty  years, 
until  his  death,  with  the  Huns,  and  was  highly  honoured 
by  the  Khan,  who  gave  him  his  daughter  to  wife. 

With  the  renegade  Li  Ling  is  associated  his  patriot 
contemporary,  Su  Wu,  who  also  met  with  strange  ad- 
ventures among  the  Huns.  Several  Chinese  envoys 
had  been  imprisoned  by  the  latter,  and  not  allowed 
to  return ;  and  by  way  of  reprisal,  Hun  envoys 
had  been  imprisoned  in  China.  But  a  new  Khan 
had  recently  sent  back  all  the  imprisoned  envoys, 
and  in  A.D.  100  Su  Wu  was  despatched  upon  a 
mission  of  peace  to  return  the  Hun  envoys  who  had 
been  detained  by  the  Chinese.  Whilst  at  the  Court 
of  the  Khan  his  fellow-envoys  revolted,  and  on  the 
strength  of  this  an  attempt  was  made  to  persuade  him 
to  throw  off  his  allegiance  and  enter  the  service  of  the 
Huns ;  upon  which  he  tried  to  commit  suicide,  and 
wounded  himself  so  severely  that  he  lay  unconscious  for 
some  hours.  He  subsequently  slew  a  Chinese  renegade 
with  his  own  hand  ;  and  then  when  it  was  found  that  he 
was  not  to  be  forced  into  submission,  he  was  thrown 
into  a  dungeon  and  left  without  food  for  several  days. 
He  kept  himself  alive  by  sucking  snow  and  gnawing  a 
felt  rug ;  and  at  length  the  Huns,  thinking  that  he  was  a 
supernatural  being,  sent  him  away  north  and  set  him  to 


LI  LING  83 

tend  sheep.  Then  Li  Ling  was  ordered  to  try  once 
more  by  brilliant  offers  to  shake  his  unswerving  loyalty, 
but  all  was  in  vain.  In  the  year  86,  peace  was  made 
with  the  Huns,  and  the  Emperor  asked  for  the  return  of 
Su  Wu.  To  this  the  Huns  replied  that  he  was  dead ; 
but  a  former  assistant  to  Su  Wu  bade  the  new  envoy 
f  tell  the  Khan  that  the  Emperor  had  shot  a  goose  with  a 
letter  tied  to  its  leg,  from  which  he  had  learnt  the  where- 
abouts of  his  missing  envoy.  This  story  so  astonished 
the  Khan  that  Su  Wu  was  released,  and  in  B.C.  81 
returned  to  China  after  a  captivity  of  nineteen  years. 
He  had  gone  away  in  the  prime  of  life ;  he  returned  a 
white-haired  and  broken-down  old  man. 

Li  Ling  and  Su  Wu  are  said  to  have  exchanged  poems 
at  parting,  and  these  are  to  be  found  published  in 
collections  under  their  respective  names.  Some  doubt 
has  been  cast  upon  the  genuineness  of  one  of  those  attri- 
buted to  Li  Ling.  It  was  pointed  out  by  Hung  Mai,  a 
brilliant  critic  of  the  twelfth  century,  that  a  certain  word 
was  used  in  the  poem,  which,  being  part  of  the  personal 
name  of  a  recent  Emperor,  would  at  that  date  have  been 
taboo.  No  such  stigma  attaches  to  the  verses  by  Su  Wu, 
who  further  gave  to  his  wife  a  parting  poem,  which  has 
been  preserved,  promising  her  that  if  he  lived  he  would 
not  fail  to  return,  and  if  he  died  he  would  never  forget 
her.  But  most  famous  of  all,  and  still  a  common  model 
for  students,  is  a  letter  written  by  Li  Ling  to  Su  Wu, 
after  the  latter's  return  to  China,  in  reply  to  an  affec- 
tionate appeal  to  him  to  return  also.  Its  genuineness 
has  been  questioned  by  Su  Shih  of  the  Sung  dynasty, 
but  not  by  the  greatest  of  modern  critics,  Lin  Hsi- 
chung,  who  declares  that  its  pathos  is  enough  to  make 
even  the  gods  weep,  and  that  it  cannot  possibly  have 


84  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

come  from  any  other  hand  save  that  of  Li  Ling.  With 
this  verdict  the  foreign  student  may  well  rest  content. 
Here  is  the  letter  : — 

"O  Tzu-ch'ing,  O  my  friend,  happy  in  the  enjoyment 
of  a  glorious  reputation,  happy  in  the  prospect  of  an 
imperishable  name, — there  is  no  misery  like  exile  in  a 
far-off  foreign  land,  the  heart  brimful  of  longing 
thoughts  of  home !  I  have  thy  kindly  letter,  bidding 
me  of  good  cheer,  kinder  than  a  brother's  words ;  for 
which  my  soul  thanks  thee. 

"  Ever  since  the  hour  of  my  surrender  until  now, 
destitute  of  all  resource,  I  have  sat  alone  with  the  bitter- 
ness of  my  grief.  All  day  long  I  see  none  but  barbarians 
around  me.  Skins  and  felt  protect  me  from  wind  and 
rain.  With  mutton  and  whey  I  satisfy  my  hunger  and 
slake  my  thirst.  Companions  with  whom  to  while  time 
away,  I  have  none.  The  whole  country  is  stiff  with 
black  ice.  I  hear  naught  but  the  moaning  of  the  bitter 
autumn  blast,  beneath  which  all  vegetation  has  dis- 
appeared. I  cannot  sleep  at  night.  I  turn  and  listen  to 
the  distant  sound  of  Tartar  pipes,  to  the  whinnying  of 
Tartar  steeds.  In  the  morning  I  sit  up  and  listen  still, 
while  tears  course  down  my  cheeks.  O  Tzu-ch'ing,  of 
what  stuff  am  I,  that  I  should  do  aught  but  grieve  ? 
The  day  of  thy  departure  left  me  disconsolate  indeed. 
I  thought  of  my  aged  mother  butchered  upon  the 
threshold  of  the  grave.  I  thought  of  my  innocent  wife 
and  child,  condemned  to  the  same  cruel  fate.  Deserv- 
ing as  I  might  have  been  of  Imperial  censure,  I  am  now 
an  object  of  pity  to  all.  Thy  return  was  to  honour  and 
renown,  while  I  remained  behind  with  infamy  and  dis- 
grace. Such  is  the  divergence  of  man's  destiny. 

"Born  within  the  domain  of  refinement  and  justice,  I 


LI  LING  85 

passed  into  an  environment  of  vulgar  ignorance.  I  left 
behind  me  obligations  to  sovereign  and  family  for  life 
amid  barbarian  hordes ;  and  now  barbarian  children 
will  carry  on  the  line  of  my  forefathers.  And  yet  my 
merit  was  great,  my  guilt  of  small  account.  I  had  no 
fair  hearing ;  and  when  I  pause  to  think  of  these  things, 
I  ask  to  what  end  I  have  lived  ?  With  a  thrust  I  could 
have  cleared  myself  of  all  blame  :  my  severed  throat 
would  have  borne  witness  to  my  resolution ;  and  be- 
tween me  and  my  country  all  would  have  been  over  for 
aye.  But  to  kill  myself  would  have  been  of  no  avail : 
I  should  only  have  added  to  my  shame.  I  therefore 
steeled  myself  to  obloquy  and  to  life.  There  were  not 
wanting  those  who  mistook  my  attitude  for  compliance, 
and  urged  me  to  a  nobler  course  ;  ignorant  that  the 
joys  of  a  foreign  land  are  sources  only  of  a  keener 
grief. 

"  O  Tzu-ch'ing,  O  my  friend,  1  will  complete  the  half- 
told  record  of  my  former  tale.  His  late  Majesty  com- 
missioned me,  with  five  thousand  infantry  under  my 
command,  to  carry  on  operations  in  a  distant  country. 
Five  brother  generals  missed  their  way  :  I  alone  reached 
the  theatre  of  war.  With  rations  for  a  long  march, 
leading  on  my  men,  I  passed  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
Celestial  Land,  and  entered  the  territory  of  the  fierce 
Huns.  With  five  thousand  men  I  stood  opposed  to  a 
hundred  thousand  :  mine  jaded  foot  -  soldiers,  theirs 
horsemen  fresh  from  the  stable.  Yet  we  slew  their 
leaders,  and  captured  their  standards,  and  drove  them 
back  in  confusion  towards  the  north.  We  obliterated 
their  very  traces  :  we  swept  them  away  like  dust  :  we 
beheaded  their  general.  A  martial  spirit  spread  abroad 
among  my  men.  With  them,  to  die  in  battle  was  to 


86  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

return  to  their  homes;  while  I — I  venture  to  think  that 
I  had  already  accomplished  something. 

"This  victory  was  speedily  followed  by  a  general  rising 
of  the  Huns.  New  levies  were  trained  to  the  use  of  arms, 
and  at  length  another  hundred  thousand  barbarians  were 
arrayed  against  me.  The  Hun  chieftain  himself  ap- 
peared, and  with  his  army  surrounded  my  little  band, 
so  unequal  in  strength, — foot-soldiers  opposed  to  horse. 
Still  my  tired  veterans  fought,  each  man  worth  a  thou- 
sand of  the  foe,  as,  covered  with  wounds,  one  and  all 
struggled  bravely  to  the  fore.  The  plain  was  strewed 
with  the  dying  and  the  dead  :  barely  a  hundred  men 
were  left,  and  these  too  weak  to  hold  a  spear  and  shield. 
Yet,  when  I  waved  my  hand  and  shouted  to  them,  the 
sick  and  wounded  arose.  Brandishing  their  blades,  and 
pointing  towards  the  foe,  they  dismissed  the  Tartar 
cavalry  like  a  rabble  rout.  And  even  when  their  arms 
were  gone,  their  arrows  spent,  without  a  foot  of  steel  in 
their  hands,  they  still  rushed,  yelling,  onward,  each  eager 
to  lead  the  way.  The  very  heavens  and  the  earth  seemed 
to  gather  round  me,  while  my  warriors  drank  tears  of 
blood.  Then  the  Hunnish  chieftain,  thinking  that  we 
should  not  yield,  would  have  drawn  off  his  forces.  But 
a  false  traitor  told  him  all  :  the  battle  was  renewed,  and 
we  were  lost. 

"  The  Emperor  Kao  Ti,  with  300,000  men  at  his  back, 
was  shut  up  in  P'ing-ch'eng.  Generals  he  had,  like 
clouds ;  counsellors,  like  drops  of  rain.  Yet  he  remained 
seven  days  without  food,  and  then  barely  escaped  with 
life.  How  much  more  then  I,  now  blamed  on  all  sides 
that  I  did  not  die  ?  This  was  my  crime.  But,  O  Tzu- 
ch'ing,  canst  thou  say  that  I  would  live  from  craven  fear 
of  death  ?  Am  I  one  to  turn  my  back  on  my  country 


LI  LING  87 

and  all  those  dear  to  me,  allured  by  sordid  thoughts  of 
gain  ?  It  was  not  indeed  without  cause  that  I  did  not 
elect  to  die.  I  longed,  as  explained  in  my  former 
letter,  to  prove  my  loyalty  to  my  prince.  Rather  than 
die  to  no  purpose,  I  chose  to  live  and  to  establish  my 
good  name.  It  was  better  to  achieve  something  than  to 
perish.  Of  old,  Fan  Li  did  not  slay  himself  after  the 
battle  of  Hui-chi ;  neither  did  Ts'ao  Mo  die  after  the 
ignominy  of  three  defeats.  Revenge  came  at  last ;  and 
thus  I  too  had  hoped  to  prevail.  Why  then  was  I  over- 
taken with  punishment  before  the  plan  was  matured  ? 
Why  were  my  own  flesh  and  blood  condemned  before 
the  design  could  be  carried  out  ?  It  is  for  this  that  I 
raise  my  face  to  Heaven,  and  beating  my  breast,  shed 
tears  of  blood. 

"  O  my  friend,  thou  sayest  that  the  House  of  Han 
never  fails  to  reward  a  deserving  servant.  But  thou  art 
thyself  a  servant  of  the  House,  and  it  would  ill  beseem 
thee  to  say  other  words  than  these.  Yet  Hsiao  and  Fan 
were  bound  in  chains ;  Han  and  P'eng  were  sliced  to 
death  ;  Ch'ao  Ts'o  was  beheaded.  Chou  Po  was  dis- 
graced, and  Tou  Ying  paid  the  penalty  with  his  life. 
Others,  great  in  their  generation,  have  also  succumbed 
to  the  intrigues  of  base  men,  and  have  been  overwhelmed 
beneath  a  weight  of  shame  from  which  they  were  unable 
to  emerge.  And  now,  the  misfortunes  of  Fan  Li  and 
Ts  ao  Mo  command  the  sympathies  of  all. 

"  My  grandfather  filled  heaven  and  earth  with  the 
fame  of  his  exploits — the  bravest  of  the  brave.  Yet, 
fearing  the  animosity  of  an  Imperial  favourite,  he  slew 
himself  in  a  distant  land,  his  death  being  followed  by  the 
secession,  in  disgust,  of  many  a  brother-hero.  Can  this 
be  the  reward  of  which  thou  speakest  1 


88  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

"Thou  too,  O  my  friend,  an  envoy  with  a  slender 
equipage,  sent  on  that  mission  to  the  robber  race,  when 
fortune  failed  thee  even  to  the  last  resource  of  the 
dagger.  Then  years  of  miserable  captivity,  all  but  ended 
by  death  among  the  wilds  of  the  far  north.  Thou  left 
us  full  of  young  life,  to  return  a  graybeard;  thy  old 
mother  dead,  thy  wife  gone  from  thee  to  another. 
Seldom  has  the  like  of  this  been  known.  Even  the 
savage  barbarian  respected  thy  loyal  spirit :  how  much 
more  the  lord  of  all  under  the  canopy  of  the  sky  ?  A 
many-acred  barony  should  have  been  thine,  the  ruler  of 
a  thousand-charioted  fief !  Nevertheless,  they  tell  me 
'twas  but  two  paltry  millions,  and  the  chancellorship  of 
the  Tributary  States.  Not  a  foot  of  soil  repaid  thee  for 
the  past,  while  some  cringing  courtier  gets  the  marqui- 
sate  of  ten  thousand  families,  and  each  greedy  parasite  of 
the  Imperial  house  is  gratified  by  the  choicest  offices  of 
the  State.  If  then  thou  farest  thus,  what  could  I  expect  ? 
I  have  been  heavily  repaid  for  that  I  did  not  die.  Thou 
hast  been  meanly  rewarded  for  thy  unswerving  devotion 
to  thy  prince.  This  is  barely  that  which  should  attract 
the  absent  servant  back  to  his  fatherland. 

"  And  so  it  is  that  I  do  not  now  regret  the  past. 
Wanting  though  I  may  have  been  in  my  duty  to  the 
State,  the  State  was  wanting  also  in  gratitude  towards 
me.  It  was  said  of  old,  'A  loyal  subject,  though  not  a 
hero,  will  rejoice  to  die  for  his  country.'  I  would  die 
joyfully  even  now ;  but  the  stain  of  my  prince's  in- 
gratitude can  never  be  wiped  away.  Indeed,  if  the  brave 
man  is  not  to  be  allowed  to  achieve  a  name,  but  must  die 
like  a  dog  in  a  barbarian  land,  who  will  be  found  to  crook 
the  back  and  bow  the  knee  before  an  Imperial  throne, 
where  the  bitter  pens  of  courtiers  tell  their  lying  tales  ? 


LU  WfcN-SHU  89 

"O  my  friend,  look  for  me  no  more.  O  Tzu-ch'ing, 
what  shall  I  say  ?  A  thousand  leagues  lie  between  us, 
and  separate  us  for  ever.  I  shall  live  out  my  life  as  it 
were  in  another  sphere  :  my  spirit  will  find  its  home 
among  a  strange  people.  Accept  my  last  adieu.  Speak 
for  me  to  my  old  acquaintances,  and  bid  them  serve 
their  sovereign  well.  O  my  friend,  be  happy  in  the 
bosom  of  thy  family,  and  think  of  me  no  more.  Strive 
to  take  all  care  of  thyself ;  and  when  time  and  oppor- 
tunity are  thine,  write  me  once  again  in  reply. 

"  Li  Ling  salutes  thee  I " 

One  of  the  Chinese  models  of  self-help  alluded  to  in 
the  San  Tzti  Ching,  the  famous  school  primer,  to  be 
described  later  on,  is  Lu  WEN-SHU  (first  century  B.C.). 
The  son  of  a  village  gaoler,  he  was  sent  by  his  father 
to  tend  sheep,  in  which  capacity  he  seems  to  have 
formed  sheets  of  writing  material  by  plaiting  rushes,  and 
otherwise  to  have  succeeded  in  educating  himself.  He 
became  an  assistant  in  a  prison,  and  there  the  knowledge 
of  law  which  he  had  picked  up  stood  him  in  such  good 
stead  that  he  was  raised  to  a  higher  position  ;  and  then, 
attracting  the  notice  of  the  governor,  he  was  still  further 
advanced,  and  finally  took  his  degree,  ultimately  rising 
to  the  rank  of  governor.  In  B.C.  67  he  submitted  to 
the  throne  the  following  well-known  memorial  : — 

"  May  it  please  your  Majesty. 

"Of  the  ten  great  follies  of  our  predecessors,  one 
still  survives  in  the  maladministration  of  justice  which 
prevails. 

"  Under  the  Ch'ins  learning  was  at  a  discount ;  brute 
force  carried  everything  before  it.  Those  who  culti- 
vated a  spirit  of  charity  and  duty  towards  their  neigh- 


90  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

hour  were  despised.  Judicial  appointments  were  the 
prizes  coveted  by  all.  He  who  spoke  out  the  truth  was 
stigmatised  as  a  slanderer,  and  he  who  strove  to  expose 
abuses  was  set  down  as  a  pestilent  fellow.  Consequently 
all  who  acted  up  to  the  precepts  of  our  ancient  code 
found  themselves  out  of  place  in  their  generation,  and 
loyal  words  of  good  advice  to  the  sovereign  remained 
locked  up  within  their  bosoms,  while  hollow  notes  of 
obsequious  flattery  soothed  the  monarch's  ear  and  lulled 
his  heart  with  false  images,  to  the  exclusion  of  disagree- 
able realities.  And  so  the  rod  of  empire  fell  from  their 
grasp  for  ever. 

"At  the  present  moment  the  State  rests  upon  the 
immeasurable  bounty  and  goodness  of  your  Majesty. 
We  are  free  from  the  horrors  of  war,  from  the  calamities 
of  hunger  and  cold.  Father  and  son,  husband  and  wife, 
are  united  in  their  happy  homes.  Nothing  is  wanting 
to  make  this  a  golden  age  save  only  reform  in  the 
administration  of  justice. 

"Of  all  trusts,  this  is  the  greatest  and  most  sacred. 
The  dead  man  can  never  come  back  to  life  :  that  which 
is  once  cut  off  cannot  be  joined  again.  '  Rather  than 
slay  an  innocent  man,  it  were  better  that  the  guilty 
escape.'  Such,  however,  is  not  the  view  of  our  judicial 
authorities  of  to-day.  With  them,  oppression  and  severity 
are  reckoned  to  be  signs  of  magisterial  acumen  and 
lead  on  to  fortune,  whereas  leniency  entails  naught 
but  trouble.  Therefore  their  chief  aim  is  to  compass 
the  death  of  their  victims ;  not  that  they  entertain  any 
grudge  against  humanity  in  general,  but  simply  that  this 
is  the  shortest  cut  to  their  own  personal  advantage. 
Thus,  our  market-places  run  with  blood,  our  criminals 
throng  the  gaols,  and  many  thousands  annually  suffer 


LU  W&N-SHU  91 

death.  These  things  are  injurious  to  public  morals  and 
hinder  the  advent  of  a  truly  golden  age. 

"  Man  enjoys  life  only  when  his  mind  is  at  peace  ; 
when  he  is  in  distress,  his  thoughts  turn  towards  death. 
Beneath  the  scourge  what  is  there  that  cannot  be  wrung 
from  the  lips  of  the  sufferer  ?  His  agony  is  overwhelm- 
ing, and  he  seeks  to  escape  by  speaking  falsely.  The 
officials  profit  by  the  opportunity,  and  cause  him  to  say 
what  will  best  confirm  his  guilt.  And  then,  fearing  lest 
the  conviction  be  quashed  by  higher  courts,  they  dress 
the  victim's  deposition  to  suit  the  circumstances  of  the 
case,  so  that,  when  the  record  is  complete,  even  were 
Kao  Yao l  himself  to  rise  from  the  dead,  he  would 
declare  that  death  still  left  a  margin  of  unexpiated  crime. 
This,  because  of  the  refining  process  adopted  to  ensure 
the  establishment  of  guilt. 

"  Our  magistrates  indeed  think  of  nothing  else.  They 
are  the  bane  of  the  people.  They  keep  in  view  their 
own  ends,  and  care  not  for  the  welfare  of  the  State. 
Truly  they  are  the  worst  criminals  of  the  age.  Hence 
the  saying  now  runs,  '  Chalk  out  a  prison  on  the  ground, 
and  no  one  would  remain  within.  Set  up  a  gaoler  of 
wood,  and  he  will  be  found  standing  there  alone.'  2 
Imprisonment  has  become  the  greatest  of  all  misfor- 
tunes, while  among  those  who  break  the  law,  who 
violate  family  ties,  who  choke  the  truth,  there  are  none 
to  be  compared  in  iniquity  with  the  officers  of  justice 
themselves. 

"Where  you  let  the  kite  rear  its  young  undisturbed, 
there  will  the  phoenix  come  and  build  its  nest.  Do 
not  punish  for  misguided  advice,  and  by  and  by  valuable 

1  A  famous  Minister  of  Crime  in  the  mythical  ages. 

a  Contrary  to  what  was  actually  the  case  in  the  Golden  Age, 


92  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

suggestions  will  flow  in.  The  men  of  old  said,  '  Hills 
and  jungles  shelter  many  noxious  things ;  rivers  and 
marshes  receive  much  filth ;  even  the  finest  gems  are 
not  wholly  without  flaw.  Surely  then  the  ruler  of  an 
empire  should  put  up  with  a  little  abuse.'  But  I  would 
have  your  Majesty  exempt  from  vituperation,  and  open 
to  the  advice  of  all  who  have  aught  to  say.  I  would 
have  freedom  of  speech  in  the  advisers  of  the  throne. 
I  would  sweep  away  the  errors  which  brought  the 
downfall  of  our  predecessors.  I  would  have  reverence 
for  the  virtues  of  our  ancient  kings  and  reform  in  the 
administration  of  justice,  to  the  utter  confusion  of  those 
who  now  pervert  its  course.  Then  indeed  would  the 
golden  age  be  renewed  over  the  face  of  the  glad  earth, 
and  the  people  would  move  ever  onwards  in  peace  and 
happiness  boundless  as  the  sky  itself." 

Km  HSIANG  (B.C.  80-89)  was  a  descendant  of  the  beadle 
founder  of  the  great  Han  dynasty.  Entering  into  official 
life,  he  sought  to  curry  favour  with  the  reigning  Emperor 
by  submitting  some  secret  works  on  the  black  art, 
towards  which  his  Majesty  was  much  inclined.  The 
results  not  proving  successful,  he  was  thrown  into 
prison,  but  was  soon  released  that  he  might  carry  on 
the  publication  of  the  commentary  on  the  Spring  and 
Autumn  by  Ku-liang.  He  also  revised  and  re-arranged 
the  historical  episodes  known  as  the  Chan  Kuo  Ts'/, 
wrote  treatises  on  government  and  some  poetry,  and 
compiled  Biographies  of  Eminent  Women,  the  first 
work  of  its  kind. 

His  son,  Liu  HSIN,  was  a  precocious  boy,  who  early 
distinguished  himself  by  wide  reading  in  all  branches  of 
literature.  He  worked  with  his  father  upon  the  restora- 


YANG  HSIUNG  93 

tion  of  the  classical  texts,  especially  of  the  Book  of 
Changes,  and  later  on  was  chiefly  instrumental  in  estab- 
lishing the  position  of  Tso's  Commentary  on  the  Spring 
and  Autumn.  He  catalogued  the  Imperial  Library,  and 
in  conjunction  with  his  father  discovered — some  say 
compiled — the  Chou  Ritual. 

A  well-known  figure  in  Chinese  literature  is  YANG 
HSIUNG  (B.C.  53-A.D.  18).  As  a  boy  he  was  fond  of 
straying  from  the  beaten  track  and  reading  whatever 
he  could  lay  his  hands  on.  He  stammered  badly, 
and  consequently  gave  much  time  to  meditation.  He 
propounded  an  ethical  criterion  occupying  a  middle 
place  between  those  insisted  upon  by  Mencius  and  by 
Hsiin  K'uang,  teaching  that  the  nature  of  man  at  birth 
is  neither  good  nor  evil,  but  a  mixture  of  both,  and 
that  development  in  either  direction  depends  wholly 
upon  environment.  In  glorification  of  the  Book  of 
Changes  he  wrote  the  T*ai  Hsiian  Ching,  and  to  em- 
phasise the  value  of  the  Confucian  Analects  he  pro- 
duced a  philosophical  treatise  known  as  the  Fa  Yen, 
both  between  A.D.  i  and  6.  On  completion  of  this  last, 
his  most  famous  work,  a  wealthy  merchant  of  the  pro- 
vince was  so  struck  by  its  excellence  that  he  offered  to 
give  IOQ,OOO  cash  if  his  name  should  merely  be  mentioned 
in  it.  But  Yang  answered  with  scorn  that  a  stag  in  a 
pen  or  an  ox  in  a  cage  would  not  be  more  out  of  place 
than  the  name  of  a  man  with  nothing  but  money  to 
recommend  him  in  the  sacred  pages  of  a  book.  Liu 
Hsin,  however,  sneeringly  suggested  that  posterity  would 
use  Yang  Hsiung's  work  to  cover  pickle-jars. 

Besides  composing  some  mediocre  poetry,  Yang 
Hsiung  wrote  on  acupuncture,  music,  and  philology. 


94  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

There  is  little  doubt  that  he  did  not  write  the  Fang 
Yen,  a  vocabulary  of  words  and  phrases  used  in  various 
parts  of  the  empire,  which  was  steadily  attributed  to 
him  until  Hung  Mai,  a  critic  of  the  twelfth  century, 
already  mentioned  in  Chapter  I.  of  this  Book,  made 
short  work  of  his  claims. 

A  brilliant  writer  who  attracted  much  attention  in 
his  day  was  WANG  CH'UNG  (A.D.  27-97).  He  is  said  to 
have  picked  up  his  education  at  bookstalls,  with  the 
aid  of  a  superbly  retentive  memory.  Only  one  of  his 
works  is  extant,  the  Lun  Heng,  consisting  of  eighty-five 
essays  on  a  variety  of  subjects.  In  these  he  tilts  against 
the  errors  of  the  age,  and  exposes  even  Confucius  and 
Mencius  to  free  and  searching  criticisms.  He  is  conse- 
quently ranked  as  a  heterodox  thinker.  He  showed  that 
the  soul  could  neither  exist  after  death  as  a  spirit  nor 
exercise  any  influence  upon  the  living.  When  the  body 
decomposes,  the  soul,  a  phenomenon  inseparable  from 
vitality,  perishes  with  it.  He  further  argued  that  if  the 
souls  of  human  beings  were  immortal,  those  of  animals 
would  be  immortal  likewise  ;  and  that  space  itself  would 
not  suffice  to  contain  the  countless  shades  of  the  men 
and  creatures  of  all  time. 

MA  JUNG  (A.D.  79-166)  was  popularly  known  as  the 
Universal  Scholar.  His  learning  in  Confucian  lore  was 
profound,  and  he  taught  upwards  of  one  thousand 
pupils.  He  introduced  the  system  of  printing  notes  or 
comments  in  the  body  of  the  page,  using  for  that  pur- 
pose smaller  characters  cut  in  double  columns ;  and  it 
was  by  a  knowledge  of  this  fact  that  a  clever  critic  of  the 
T'ang  dynasty  was  able  to  settle  the  spuriousness  of  an 
early  edition  of  the  Tao-Te-Ching  with  double-column 


TS'AI  YUNG— CH^NG  HSOAN  95 

commentary,  which  had  been  attributed  to  Ho  Shang 
Kung,  a  writer  of  the  second  century  B.C. 

TS'AI  YUNG  (A.D.  133-192),  whose  tippling  propen- 
sities earned  for  him  the  nickname  of  the  Drunken 
Dragon,  is  chiefly  remembered  in  connection  with 
literature  as  superintending  the  work  of  engraving  on 
stone  the  authorised  text  of  the  Five  Classics.  With  red 
ink  he  wrote  these  out  on  forty-six  tablets  for  the  work- 
men to  cut.  The  tablets  were  placed  in  the  Hung-tu 
College,  and  fragments  of  them  are  said  to  be  still  in 
existence. 

The  most  famous  of  the  pupils  who  sat  at  the  feet  of 
Ma  Jung  was  CHENG  HSUAN  (A.D.  127-200).  He  is  one 
of  the  most  voluminous  of  all  the  commentators  upon 
the  Confucian  classics.  He  lived  for  learning.  The 
very  slave-girls  of  his  household  were  highly  educated, 
and  interlarded  their  conversation  with  quotations  from 
the  Odes.  He  was  nevertheless  fond  of  wine,  and  is  said 
to  have  been  able  to  take  three  hundred  cups  at  a  sit- 
ting without  losing  his  head.  Perhaps  it  may  be  as  well 
to  add  that  a  Chinese  cup  holds  about  a  thimbleful.  As 
an  instance  of  the  general  respect  in  which  he  was  held, 
it  is  recorded  that  at  his  request  the  chief  of  certain  rebels 
spared  the  town  of  Kao-mi  (his  native  place),  marching 
forward  by  another  route.  In  A.D.  200  Confucius  ap- 
peared to  him  in  a  vision,  and  he  knew  by  this  token 
that  his  hour  was  at  hand.  Consequently,  he  was  very 
loth  to  respond  to  a  summons  sent  to  him  from  Chi-chou 
in  Chihli  by  the  then  powerful  Yuan  Shao.  He  set  out 
indeed  upon  the  journey,  but  died  on  the  way. 

It  is  difficult  to  bring  the  above  writers,  representatives 
of  a  class,  individually  to  the  notice  of  the  reader.  Though 
each  one  wandered  into  by-paths  of  his  own,  the  common 


96  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

lode-star  was  Confucianism — elucidation  of  the  Confucian 
Canon.  For  although,  with  us,  commentaries  upon  the 
classics  are  not  usually  regarded  as  literature,  they  are 
so  regarded  by  the  Chinese,  who  place  such  works  in  the 
very  highest  rank,  and  reward  successful  commentators 
with  the  coveted  niche  in  the  Confucian  temple. 


CHAPTER    II 
POETRY 

AT  the  beginning  of  the  second  century  B.C.,  poetry 
was  still  composed  on  the  model  of  the  Li  Sao,  and 
we  are  in  possession  of  a  number  of  works  assigned 
to  Chia  I  (B.C.  199-168),  Tung-fang  So  (b.  B.C.  160), 
Liu  Hsiang,  and  others,  all  of  which  follow  on  the 
lines  of  Ch'ii  Yuan's  great  poem.  But  gradually, 
with  the  more  definite  establishment  of  what  we  may 
call  classical  influence,  poets  went  back  to  find  their 
exemplars  in  the  Book  of  Poetry,  which  came  as  it  were 
from  the  very  hand  of  Confucius  himself.  Poems  were 
written  in  metres  of  four,  five,  and  seven  words  to  a 
line.  Ssu-ma  Hsiang-ju  (d.  B.C.  117),  a  gay  Lothario 
who  eloped  with  a  young  widow,  made  such  a  name 
with  his  verses  that  he  was  summoned  to  Court,  and 
appointed  by  the  Emperor  to  high  office.  His  poems, 
however,  have  not  survived. 

MEI  SH£NG  (d,  B.C.  140),  who  formed  his  style  on 
Ssu-ma,  has  the  honour  of  being  the  first  to  bring  home 
to  his  fellow-countrymen  the  extreme  beauty  of  the  five- 
word  metre.  From  him  modern  poetry  may  be  said  to 
date.  Many  specimens  of  his  workmanship  are  extant : — 

(l.)  "  Green  grows  the  grass  upon  the  bank, 
77te  willow-shoots  are  long'  and  lank  ; 
A  lady  in  a  glistening  gown 
Opens  the  casement  and  looks  down 

97 


98  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

The  roses  on  her  cheek  blush  bright, 

Her  rounded  arm  is  dazzling  white; 

A  singing-girl  in  early  life, 

And  now  a  careless  roufs  wife.  ... 

A^  if  he  does  not  mind  his  own, 

H£  II find  some  day  the  bird  has  flown!* 

(2.)  "  The  red  hibiscus  and  the  reed, 

The  fragrant  flowers  of  marsh  and  mead) 
All  these  I  gather  as  I  stray, 
As  though  for  one  now  far  away. 
I  strive  to  pierce  with  straining  eyes 
The  distance  that  between  us  lies. 
Alas  that  hearts  -which  beat  as  one 
Should  thus  be  parted  and  undone  /  " 

LlU  HiNG  (d.  B.C.  157)  was  the  son  by  a  concubine  of 
the  founder  of  the  Han  dynasty,  and  succeeded  in  B.C.  i Se- 
as fourth  Emperor  of  the  line.  For  over  twenty  years 
he  ruled  wisely  and  well.  He  is  one  of  the  twenty-four 
classical  examples  of  filial  piety,  having  waited  on  his  sick 
mother  for  three  years  without  changing  his  clothes.  He 
was  a  scholar,  and  was  canonised  after  death  by  a  title 
which  may  fairly  be  rendered  "  Beauclerc."  The  follow- 
ing is  a  poem  which  he  wrote  on  the  death  of  his  illustri- 
ous father,  who,  if  we  can  accept  as  genuine  the  remains 
attributed  to  him,  was  himself  also  a  poet : — 

"  /  look  up,  the  curtains  are  there  as  of  yore; 
I  look  down,  and  there  is  the  mat  on  the  floor ; 
These  things  I  behold,  but  the  man  is  no  more. 

"  To  the  infinite  azure  his  spirit  has  flown, 
And  I  am  left  friendless,  uncared-for,  a/one, 
Of  solace  bereft,  save  to  weep  and  to  moan. 

u  The  deer  on  the  hillside  caressingly  bleat, 
And  offer  the  grass  for  their  young  ones  to  eat, 
While  birds  of  the  air  to  their  nes flings  bring  meat 


LIU  HENG— LIU  CH'E  99 

**  But  I  a  poor  orphan  must  ever  remain, 
My  heart,  still  so  young,  overburdened  with  pain 
For  him  I  shall  never  set  eyes  on  again. 

*"7V.r  a  well-worn  old  saying,  which  all  men  allow, 
That  grief  stamps  the  deepest  of  lines  on  the  brow  : 
Alas  for  my  hair,  it  is  silvery  now  ! 

"  Alas  for  my  father,  cut  off  in  his  pride! 
Alas  that  no  more  I  may  stand  by  his  side  ! 
Oh,  where  were  the  gods  when  that  great  hero  died?" 

The  literary  fame  of  the  Beauclerc  was  rivalled,  if  not 
surpassed,  by  his  grandson,  Liu  CH'fe  (B.C.  156-87),  who 
succeeded  in  B.C.  140  as  sixth  Emperor  of  the  Han 
dynasty.  He  was  an  enthusiastic  patron  of  literature. 
He  devoted  great  attention  to  music  as  a  factor  in 
national  life.  He  established  important  religious  sacri- 
fices to  heaven  and  earth.  He  caused  the  calendar  to 
be  reformed  by  his  grand  astrologer,  the  historian  SstJ-MA 
CH'IEN,  from  which  date  accurate  chronology  may  be 
almost  said  to  begin.  His  generals  carried  the  Imperial 
arms  into  Central  Asia,  and  for  many  years  the  Huns 
were  held  in  check.  Notwithstanding  his  enlightened 
policy,  the  Emperor  was  personally  much  taken  up  with 
the  magic  and  mysteries  which  were  being  gradually 
grafted  on  to  the  Tao  of  Lao  Tzu,  and  he  encouraged 
the  numerous  quacks  who  pretended  to  have  discovered 
the  elixir  of  life.  The  following  are  specimens  of  his 
skill  in  poetry  : — 

"  7Ai?  autumn  blast  drives  the  white  scud  in  tJie  sky, 
Leaves  fade,  and  wild  geese  sweeping  south  meet  the  eye  y 
The  scent  of  late  flowers  fills  the  soft  air  above. 
My  heart  full  of  thoughts  of  the  lady  I  love. 
In  the  river  the  barges  for  revel-carouse 
Are  lined  by  white  waves  which  break  over  tlieir  bows / 


100  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

Their  oarsmen  keep  time  to  the  piping  and  drumming.  .  .  . 
Yet  joy  is  as  naught 
Alloyed  by  the  thought 
That  youth  slips  away  and  that  old  age  is  coming." 

The  next  lines  were  written  upon  the  death  of  a  harem 
favourite,  to  whom  he  was  fondly  attached  : — 

"  The  sound  of  rustling  silk  is  stilled, 
With  dust  the  marble  courtyard  filled; 
No  footfalls  echo  on  the  floor, 
Fallen  leaves  in  heap:  block  up  the  door.  .  .  . 
For  she,  my  pride,  my  lovely  one,  is  lost, 
And  1  am  left,  in  hopeless  anguish  tossed? 

A  good  many  anonymous  poems  have  come  down  to 
us  from  the  first  century  B.C.,  and  some  of  these  contain 
here  and  there  quaint  and  pleasing  conceits,  as,  for 
instance — 

"  Man  reaches  scarce  a  hundred,  yet  his  tears 
Would  fill  a  lifetime  of  a  thousand  years? 

The  following  is  a  poem  of  this  period,  the  author  of 
which  is  unknown  : — 

"  Forth  from  the  eastern  gate  my  steeds  I  drive, 
And  lo  !  a  cemetery  meets  my  view; 
Aspens  around  in  wild  luxuriance  thrive, 
The  road  is  fringed  with  fir  and  pine  and  yew. 
Beneath  my  feet  lie  the  forgotten  dead, 
Wrapped  in  a  twilight  of  eternal  gloom  ; 
Down  by  the  Yellow  Springs  their  earthy  bed, 
And  everlasting  silence  is  their  doom. 
How  fast  the  lights  and  shadows  come  and  go  / 
Like  morning  dew  our  fleeting  life  has  passed; 
Man,  a  poor  traveller  on  earth  below, 
Is  gone,  while  brass  and  stone  can  still  outlast. 


THE  LADY  PAN  101 

Time  is  inexorable,  and  in  vain 
Against  his  might  the  holiest  mortal  strives  j 
Can  we  then  hope  this  precious  boon  to  gain. 
By  strange  elixirs  to  prolong  our  lives  ?  .  .  . 
Oh,  rather  quaff  good  liquor  -while  we  may, 
And  dress  in  silk  and  satin  every  day  /" 

Women  now  begin  to  appear  in  Chinese  literature. 
The  Lady  PAN  was  for  a  long  time  chief  favourite  of  the 
Emperor  who  ruled  China  B.C.  32-6.  So  devoted  was 
his  Majesty  that  he  even  wished  her  to  appear  alongside 
of  him  in  the  Imperial  chariot.  Upon  which  she  replied, 
"  Your  handmaid  has  heard  that  wise  rulers  of  old  were 
always  accompanied  by  virtuous  ministers,  but  never 
that  they  drove  out  with  women  by  their  side."  She 
was  ultimately  supplanted  by  a  younger  and  more  beau- 
tiful rival,  whereupon  she  forwarded  to  the  Emperor 
one  of  those  fans,  round  or  octagonal  frames  of  bamboo 
with  silk  stretched  over  them,1  which  in  this  country 
are  called  "  fire-screens,"  inscribed  with  the  following 
lines  : — 

"  O  fair  white  silk,  fresh  from  the  weaver's  loom, 
Clear  as  the  frost,  bright  as  the  winter  snow — 
See  !  friendship  fashions  out  of  thee  a  fan, 
Round  as  the  round  moon  shines  in  heaven  above, 
At  home,  abroad,  a  close  companion  thou, 
Stirring  at  every  move  the  grateful  gale. 
And  yet  I  fear,  ah  me  !  that  autumn  chills, 
Cooling  the  dying  summer's  torrid  rage, 
Will  see  thee  laid  neglected  on  the  shelf, 
All  thought  of  bygone  days,  like  them  bygone? 

The  phrase  "  autumn  fan  "  has  long  since  passed  into 
the  language,  and  is  used  figuratively  of  a  deserted  wife. 

1  The  folding  fan,  invented  by  the  Japanese,  was  not  known  in  China  until 
the  eleventh  century  A.D.,  when  it  was  introduced  through  Korea. 


CHAPTER  III 
HISTORY— LEXICOGRAPHY 

SO  far  as  China  is  concerned,  the  art  of  writing  history 
may  be  said  to  have  been  created  during  the  period 
under  review.  SsO-MA  CH'IEN,  the  so-called  Father  of 
History,  was  born  about  B.C.  145.  At  the  age  of  ten  he 
was  already  a  good  scholar,  and  at  twenty  set  forth  upon 
a  round  of  travel  which  carried  him  to  all  parts  of  the 
empire.  In  B.C.  no  his  father  died,  and  he  stepped 
into  the  hereditary  post  of  grand  astrologer.  After 
devoting  some  time  and  energy  to  the  reformation  of 
the  calendar,  he  now  took  up  the  historical  work  which 
had  been  begun  by  his  father,  and  which  was  ultimately 
given  to  the  world  as  the  Historical  Record.  It  is  a 
history  of  China  from  the  earliest  ages  down  to  about 
one  hundred  years  before  the  Christian  era,  in  one 
hundred  and  thirty  chapters,  arranged  under  five  head- 
ings, as  follows: — (i)  Annals  of  the  Emperors;  (2) 
Chronological  Tables;  (3)  Eight  chapters  on  Rites,  Music, 
the  Pitch-pipes,  the  Calendar,  Astrology,  Imperial  Sacri- 
fices, Watercourses,  and  Political  Economy  ;  (4)  Annals 
of  the  Feudal  Nobles  ;  and  (5)  Biographies  of  many  of 
the  eminent  men  of  the  period,  which  covers  nearly  three 
thousand  years.  In  such  estimation  is  this  work  justly 
held  that  its  very  words  have  been  counted,  and  found 
to  number  526,500  in  all.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind 


SSO-MA  CH'IEN  103 

that  these  characters  were,  in  all  probability,  scratched 
with  a  stylus  on  bamboo  tablets,  and  that  previous  to 
this  there  was  no  such  thing  as  a  history  on  a  general 
and  comprehensive  plan  ;  in  fact,  nothing  beyond  mere 
local  annals  in  the  style  of  the  Spring  and  Autumn. 

Since  the  Historical  Record,  every  dynasty  has  had  its 
historian,  their  works  in  all  cases  being  formed  upon  the 
model  bequeathed  by  Ssu-ma  Ch'ien.  The  Twenty-four 
Dynastic  Histories  of  China  were  produced  in  1747  in  a 
uniform  series  bound  up  in  219  large  volumes,  and  to- 
gether show  a  record  such  as  can  be  produced  by  no 
other  country  in  the  world. 

The  following  are  specimens  of  Ssu-ma  Ch'ien's 
style  : — 

(i.)  "When  the  House  of  Han  arose,  the  evils  of  their 
predecessors  had  not  passed  away.  Husbands  still  went 
off  to  the  wars.  The  old  and  the  young  were  employed 
in  transporting  food.  Production  was  almost  at  a  stand- 
still, and  money  became  scarce.  So  much  so,  that  even 
the  Son  of  Heaven  had  not  carriage-horses  of  the  same 
colour ;  the  highest  civil  and  military  authorities  rode  in 
bullock-carts,  and  the  people  at  large  knew  not  where 
to  lay  their  heads. 

"At  this  epoch,  the  coinage  in  use  was  so  heavy  and 
cumbersome  that  the  people  themselves  started  a  new 
issue  at  a  fixed  standard  of  value.  But  the  laws  were 
too  lax,  and  it  was  impossible  to  prevent  grasping  persons 
from  coining  largely,  buying  largely,  and  then  holding 
against  a  rise  in  the  market.  The  consequence  was  that 
prices  went  up  enormously.  Rice  sold  at  10,000  cash 
per  picul ;  a  horse  cost  100  ounces  of  silver.  But  by 
and  by,  when  the  empire  was  settling  down  to  tran- 
quillity, his  Majesty  Kao  Tsu  gave  orders  that  no  trader 


104  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

should  wear  silk  nor  ride  in  a  carriage ;  besides  which, 
the  imposts  levied  upon  this  class  were  greatly  increased, 
in  order  to  keep  them  down.  Some  years  later  these 
restrictions  were  withdrawn  ;  still,  however,  the  descen- 
dants of  traders  were  disqualified  from  holding  any  office 
connected  with  the  State. 

"  Meanwhile,  certain  levies  were  made  on  a  scale  cal- 
culated to  meet  the  exigencies  of  public  expenditure; 
while  the  land-tax  and  customs  revenue  were  regarded 
by  all  officials,  from  the  Emperor  downwards,  as  their 
own  personal  emolument.  Grain  was  forwarded  by 
water  to  the  capital  for  the  use  of  the  officials  there,  but 
the  quantity  did  not  amount  to  more  than  a  few  hundred 
thousand  piculs  every  year. 

"Gradually  the  coinage  began  to  deteriorate  and  light 
coins  to  circulate  ;  whereupon  another  issue  followed, 
each  piece  being  marked  '  half  an  ounce.'  But  at  length 
the  system  of  private  issues  led  to  serious  abuses,  result- 
ing first  of  all  in  vast  sums  of  money  accumulating  in 
the  hands  of  individuals ;  finally,  in  rebellion,  until  the 
country  was  flooded  with  the  coinage  of  the  rebels, 
and  it  became  necessary  to  enact  laws  against  any  such 
issues  in  the  future. 

"  At  this  period  the  Huns  were  harassing  our  northern 
frontier,  and  soldiers  were  massed  there  in  large  bodies ; 
in  consequence  of  which  food  became  so  scarce  that  the 
authorities  offered  certain  rank  and  titles  of  honour  to 
those  who  would  supply  a  given  quantity  of  grain.  Later 
on,  drought  ensued  in  the  west,  and  in  order  to  meet 
necessities  of  the  moment,  official  rank  was  again  made 
a  marketable  commodity,  while  those  who  broke  the  laws 
were  allowed  to  commute  their  penalties  by  money  pay- 
ments. And  now  horses  began  to  reappear  in  official 


SSO-MA  CH'IEN  105 

stables,  and  in  palace  and  hall  signs  of  an  ampler  luxury 
were  visible  once  more. 

"Thus  it  was  in  the  early  days  of  the  dynasty,  until 
some  seventy  years  after  the  accession  ot  the  House  of 
Han.  The  empire  was  then  at  peace.  For  a  long  time 
there  had  been  neither  flood  nor  drought,  and  a  season 
of  plenty  had  ensued.  The  public  granaries  were  well 
stocked ;  the  Government  treasuries  were  full.  In  the 
capital,  strings  of  cash  were  piled  in  myriads,  until  the 
very  strings  rotted,  and  their  tale  could  no  longer  be 
told.  The  grain  in  the  Imperial  storehouses  grew  mouldy 
year  by  year.  It  burst  from  the  crammed  granaries,  and 
lay  about  until  it  became  unfit  for  human  food.  The 
streets  were  thronged  with  horses  belonging  to  the 
people,  and  on  the  highroads  whole  droves  were  to  be 
seen,  so  that  it  became  necessary  to  prohibit  the  public 
use  of  mares.  Village  elders  ate  meat  and  drank  wine. 
Petty  government  clerkships  and  the  like  lapsed  from 
father  to  son  ;  the  higher  offices  of  State  were  treated 
as  family  heirlooms.  For  there  had  gone  abroad  a 
spirit  of  self-respect  and  of  reverence  for  the  law,  while 
a  sense  of  charity  and  of  duty  towards  one's  neighbour 
kept  men  aloof  from  disgrace  and  shame. 

"  At  length,  under  lax  laws,  the  wealthy  began  to  use 
their  riches  for  evil  purposes  of  pride  and  self-aggrandise- 
ment and  oppression  of  the  weak.  Members  of  the 
Imperial  family  received  grants  of  land,  while  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest,  every  one  vied  with  his  neighbour 
in  lavishing  money  on  houses,  and  appointments,  and 
apparel,  altogether  beyond  the  limit  of  his  means.  Such 
is  the  everlasting  law  of  the  sequence  of  prosperity  and 
decay. 

"Then   followed    extensive    military   preparations    in 


106  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

various  parts  of  the  empire ;  the  establishment  of  a 
tradal  route  with  the  barbarians  of  the  south-west,  for 
which  purpose  mountains  were  hewn  through  for  many 
miles.  The  object  was  to  open  up  the  resources  of 
those  remote  districts,  but  the  result  was  to  swamp  the 
inhabitants  in  hopeless  ruin.  Then,  again,  there  was 
the  subjugation  of  Korea;  its  transformation  into  an 
Imperial  dependency ;  with  other  troubles  nearer  home. 
There  was  the  ambush  laid  for  the  Huns,  by  which  we 
forfeited  their  alliance,  and  brought  them  down  upon 
our  northern  frontier.  Nothing,  in  fact,  but  wars  and 
rumours  of  wars  from  day  to  day.  Money  was  con- 
stantly leaving  the  country.  The  financial  stability  of 
the  empire  was  undermined,  and  its  impoverished  people 
were  driven  thereby  into  crime.  Wealth  had  been 
frittered  away,  and  its  renewal  was  sought  in  corruption. 
Those  who  brought  money  in  their  hands  received 
appointments  under  government.  Those  who  could  pay 
escaped  the  penalties  of  their  guilt.  Merit  had  to  give 
way  to  money.  Shame  and  scruples  of  conscience  were 
laid  aside.  Laws  and  punishments  were  administered 
with  severer  hand.  From  this  period  must  be  dated  the 
rise  and  growth  of  official  venality." 

(2.)  "The  Odes  have  it  thus: — 'We  may  gaze  up  to 
the  mountain's  brow  :  we  may  travel  along  the  great 
road;'  signifying  that  although  we  cannot  hope  to 
reach  the  goal,  still  we  may  push  on  thitherwards  in 
spirit. 

"  While  reading  the  works  of  Confucius,  I  have  always 
fancied  I  could  see  the  man  as  he  was  in  life  ;  and  when 
I  went  to  Shantung  I  actually  beheld  his  carriage,  his 
robes,  and  the  material  parts  of  his  ceremonial  usages. 
There  were  his  descendants  practising  the  old  rites  in 


SSO-MA  CH'IEN  107 

their  ancestral  home,  and  I  lingered  on,  unable  to  tear 
myself  away.  Many  are  the  princes  and  prophets  that 
the  world  has  seen  in  its  time,  glorious  in  life,  forgotten 
in  death.  But  Confucius,  though  only  a  humble  member 
of  the  cotton-clothed  masses,  remains  among  us  after 
many  generations.  He  is  the  model  for  such  as  would 
be  wise.  By  all,  from  the  Son  of  Heaven  down  to  the 
meanest  student,  the  supremacy  of  his  principles  is  fully 
and  freely  admitted.  He  may  indeed  be  pronounced 
the  divinest  of  men." 

(3.)  "In  the  Qth  moon  the  First  Emperor  was  buried 
in  Mount  Li,  which  in  the  early  days  of  his  reign  he  had 
caused  to  be  tunnelled  and  prepared  with  that  view. 
Then,  when  he  had  consolidated  the  empire,  he  employed 
his  soldiery,  to  the  number  of  700,000,  to  bore  down  to  the 
Three  Springs  (that  is,  until  water  was  reached),  and  there 
a  foundation  of  bronze1  was  laid  and  the  sarcophagus 
placed  thereon.  Rare  objects  and  costly  jewels  were 
collected  from  the  palaces  and  from  the  various  officials, 
and  were  carried  thither  and  stored  in  vast  quantities. 
Artificers  were  ordered  to  construct  mechanical  cross- 
bows, which,  if  any  one  were  to  enter,  would  immediately 
discharge  their  arrows.  With  the  aid  of  quicksilver, 
rivers  were  made,  the  Yang-tsze,  the  Hoang-ho,  and  the 
great  ocean,  the  metal  being  poured  from  one  into  the 
other  by  machinery.  On  the  roof  were  delineated  the 
constellations  of  the  sky,  on  the  floor  the  geographical 
divisions  of  the  earth.  Candles  were  made  from  the  fat 
of  the  man-fish  (walrus),  calculated  to  last  for  a  very 
long  time. 

"The  Second  Emperor  said,  '  It  is  not  fitting  that  the 
concubines  of  my  late  father  who  are  without  children 

1  Variant  "  firm,"  i.e.  was  firmly  laid. 


io8  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

should  leave  him  now ; '  and  accordingly  he  ordered 
them  to  accompany  the  dead  monarch  to  the  next  world, 
those  who  thus  perished  being  many  in  number. 

"  When  the  interment  was  completed,  some  one  sug- 
gested that  the  workmen  who  had  made  the  machinery 
and  concealed  the  treasure  knew  the  great  value  of  the 
latter,  and  that  the  secret  would  leak  out.  Therefore,  so 
soon  as  the  ceremony  was  over,  and  the  path  giving  access 
to  the  sarcophagus  had  been  blocked  up  at  its  innermost 
end,  the  outside  gate  at  the  entrance  to  this  path  was 
let  fall,  and  the  mausoleum  was  effectually  closed,  so  that 
not  one  of  the  workmen  escaped.  Trees  and  grass  were 
then  planted  around,  that  the  spot  might  look  like  the 
rest  of  the  mountain." 

The  history  by  Ssu-ma  Ch'ien  stops  about  100  years 
before  Christ.  To  carry  it  on  from  that  point  was  the 
ambition  of  a  scholar  named  Pan  Piao  (A.D.  3-54),  but  he 
died  while  still  collecting  materials  for  his  task.  His 
son,  PAN  Ku,  whose  scholarship  was  extensive  and  pro- 
found, took  up  the  project,  but  was  impeached  on  the 
ground  that  he  was  altering  the  national  records  at  his 
own  discretion,  and  was  thrown  into  prison.  Released 
on  the  representations  of  a  brother,  he  continued  his 
work ;  however,  before  its  completion  he  became  in- 
volved in  a  political  intrigue  and  was  again  thrown  into 
prison,  where  he  died.  The  Emperor  handed  the  un- 
finished history  to  PAN  CHAD,  his  gifted  sister,  who  had 
been  all  along  his  assistant,  and  by  her  it  was  brought 
to  completion  down  to  about  the  Christian  era,  where 
the  occupancy  of  the  throne  by  a  usurper  divides  the 
Han  dynasty  into  two  distinct  periods.  This  lady  was 
also  the  author  of  a  volume  of  moral  advice  to  young 
women,  and  of  many  poems  and  essays. 


HsO  SH£N  109 

Lexicography,  which  has  since  been  so  widely  culti- 
vated by  the  Chinese,  was  called  into  being  by  a  famous 
scholar  named  Hsu  SHEN  (d.  A.D.  120).  Entering  upon 
an  official  career,  he  soon  retired  and  devoted  the  rest  of 
his  life  to  books.  He  was  a  deep  student  of  the  Five 
Classics,  and  wrote  a  work  on  the  discrepancies  in  the 
various  criticisms  of  these  books.  But  it  is  by  his  Shuo 
Wen  that  he  is  now  known.  This  was  a  collection,  with 
short  explanatory  notes,  of  all  the  characters — about  ten 
thousand — which  were  to  be  found  in  Chinese  literature 
as  then  existing,  written  in  what  is  now  known  as  the 
Lesser  Seal  style.  It  is  the  oldest  Chinese  dictionary  of 
which  we  have  any  record,  and  has  hitherto  formed  the 
basis  of  all  etymological  research.  It  is  arranged  under 
540  radicals  or  classifiers,  that  is  to  say,  specially 
selected  portions  of  characters  which  indicate  to  some 
extent  the  direction  in  which  lies  the  sense  of  the  whole 
character,  and  its  chief  object  was  to  exhibit  the  pictorial 
features  of  Chinese  writing. 


CHAPTER   IV 

!    i 

BUDDHISM 

THE  introduction  of  Buddhism  into  China  must  now  be 
considered,  especially  under  its  literary  aspect. 

So  early  as  B.C.  217  we  read  of  Buddhist  priests, 
Shih-li-fang  and  others,  coming  to  China.  The  "  First 
Emperor"  seems  to  have  looked  upon  them  with  sus- 
picion. At  any  rate,  he  threw  them  into  prison,  from 
which,  we  are  told,  they  were  released  in  the  night  by 
a  golden  man  or  angel.  Nothing  more  was  heard  of 
Buddhism  until  the  Emperor  known  as  Ming  Ti,  in  con- 
sequence, it  is  said,  of  a  dream  in  which  a  foreign  god 
appeared  to  him,  sent  off  a  mission  to  India  to  see  what 
could  be  learnt  upon  the  subject  of  this  barbarian  re- 
ligion. The  mission,  which  consisted  of  eighteen  persons, 
returned  about  A.D.  67,  accompanied  by  two  Indian 
Buddhists  named  Kashiapmadanga  and  Gobharana. 
These  two  settled  at  Lo-yang  in  Honan,  which  was  then 
the  capital,  and  proceeded  to  translate  into  Chinese  the 
Sutra  of  Forty-two  Sections — the  beginning  of  a  long 
line  of  such.  Soon  afterwards  the  former  died,  but  the 
seed  had  been  sown,  and  a  great  rival  to  Taoism  was 
about  to  appear  on  the  scene. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  second  century  A.D.  another 
Indian  Buddhist,  who  had  come  to  reside  at  Ch'ang-an 
in  Shensi,  translated  the  stitra  known  as  the  Lotus  of  the 


FA  HSIEN  in 

Good  Law,  and  Buddhist  temples  were  built  in  various 
parts  of  China.  By  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century 
Chinese  novices  were  taking  the  vows  required  for  the 
Buddhist  priesthood,  and  monasteries  were  endowed  for 
their  reception. 

In  A.D.  399  FA  HsiEN  started  on  his  great  pedestrian 
journey  from  the  heart  of  China  overland  to  India,  his 
object  being  to  procure  copies  of  the  Buddhist  Canon, 
statues,  and  relics.  Those  who  accompanied  him  at 
starting  either  turned  back  or  died  on  U*c~?vay7  and  he 
finally  reached  India  with  only  one  companiott7^vh6~^ 
settled  there  and  never  returned  to  China.  .After  visit- 
ing various  important  centres,  such  as  Ma^adha,  Patna, 
Benares,  and  Buddha-Gaya,  and  effecting  the-)Object"~oT 
his  journey,  he  took  passage  on  a  merCrTant-ship,  and 
reached  Ceylon.  There  he  found  a  large  junk  which 
carried  him  to  Java,  whence,  after  surviving  many  perils 
of  the  sea,  he  made  his  way  on  board  another  junk  to  the 
coast  of  Shantung,  disembarking  in  A.D.  414  with  all  his 
treasures  at  the  point  now  occupied  by  the  German 
settlement  of  Kiao-chow. 

The  narrative  of  his  adventurous  journey,  as  told  by 
himself,  is  still  in  existence,  written  in  a  crabbed  and 
difficult  style.  His  itinerary  has  been  traced,  and  nearly 
all  the  places  mentioned  by  him  have  been  identified. 
The  following  passage  refers  to  the  desert  of  Gobi,  which 
the  travellers  had  to  cross  : — 

"  In  this  desert  there  are  a  great  many  evil  spirits  and 
hot  winds.  Those  who  encounter  the  latter  perish  to 
a  man.  There  are  neither  birds  above  nor  beasts  below. 
Gazing  on  all  sides,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  in  order 
to  mark  the  track,  it  would  be  impossible  to  succeed  but 
for  the  rotting  bones  of  dead  men  which  point  the  way." 


112  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

Buddha-Gaya,  the  scene  of  recent  interesting  explora- 
tions conducted  by  the  late  General  Cunningham,  was 
visited  by  Fa  Hsien,  and  is  described  by  him  as  follows  : — 

"  The  pilgrims  now  arrived  at  the  city  of  Gaya,  also  a 
complete  waste  within  its  walls.  Journeying  about  three 
more  miles  southwards,  they  reached  the  place  where  the 
Bodhisatva  formerly  passed  six  years  in  self-mortification. 
It  is  very  woody.  From  this  point  going  west  a  mile, 
they  arrived  at  the  spot  where  Buddha  entered  the  water 
to  bathe,  and  a  god  pressed  down  the  branch  of  a  tree  to 
pull  him  out  of  the  pool.  Also,  by  going  two-thirds  of  a 
mile  farther  north,  they  reached  the  place  where  the  two 
lay-sisters  presented  Buddha  with  congee  made  with  milk. 
Two-thirds  of  a  mile  to  the  north  of  this  is  the  place  where 
Buddha,  sitting  on  a  stone  under  a  great  tree  and  facing 
the  east,  ate  it.  The  tree  and  the  stone  are  both  there 
still,  the  latter  being  about  six  feet  in  length  and  breadth 
by  over  two  feet  in  height.  In  Central  India  the  climate 
is  equable ;  trees  will  live  several  thousand,  and  even  so 
much  as  ten  thousand  years.  From  this  point  going 
north-east  half  a  yojana,  the  pilgrims  arrived  at  the  cave 
where  the  Bodhisatva,  having  entered,  sat  down  cross- 
legged  with  his  face  to  the  west,  and  reflected  as  fol- 
lows :  '  If  I  attain  perfect  wisdom,  there  should  be  some 
miracle  in  token  thereof.'  Whereupon  the  silhouette  of 
Buddha  appeared  upon  the  stone,  over  three  feet  in 
length,  and  is  plainly  visible  to  this  day.  Then  heaven 
and  earth  quaked  mightily,  and  the  gods  who  were  in 
space  cried  out,  saying,  'This  is  not  the  place  where 
past  and  future  Buddhas  have  attained  and  should  attain 
perfect  wisdom.  The  proper  spot  is  beneath  the  Bo 
tree,  less  than  half  a  yojana  to  the  south-west  of  this.' 
When  the  gods  had  uttered  these  words,  they  proceeded 


FA  HSIEN  113 

to  lead  the  way  with  singing  in  order  to  conduct  him 
thither.  The  Bddhisatva  got  up  and  followed,  and  when 
thirty  paces  from  the  tree  a  god  gave  him  the  kus'a  grass. 
Having  accepted  this,  he  went  on  fifteen  paces  farther, 
when  five  hundred  dark-coloured  birds  came  and  flew 
three  times  round  him,  and  departed.  The  Bodhisatva 
went  on  to  the  Bo  tree,  and  laying  down  his  kus'a  grass,  sat 
down  with  his  face  to  the  east.  Then  Mara,  the  king  of 
the  devils,  sent  three  beautiful  women  to  approach  from 
the  north  and  tempt  him  ;  he  himself  approaching  from 
the  south  with  the  same  object.  The  Bodhisatva  pressed 
the  ground  with  his  toes,  whereupon  the  infernal  army 
retreated  in  confusion,  and  the  three  women  became  old. 
At  the  above-mentioned  place  where  Buddha  suffered 
mortification  for  six  years,  and  on  all  these  other  spots, 
men  of  after  ages  have  built  pagodas  and  set  up  images, 
all  of  which  are  still  in  existence.  Where  Buddha,  having 
attained  perfect  wisdom,  contemplated  the  free  for 
seven  days,  experiencing  the  joys  of  emancipation ; 
where  Buddha  walked  backwards  and  forwards,  east  and 
west,  under  the  Bo  tree  for  seven  days  ;  where  the  gods 
produced  a  jewelled  chamber  and  worshipped  Buddha 
for  seven  days  ;  where  the  blind  dragon  Muchilinda 
enveloped  Buddha  for  seven  days ;  where  Buddha  sat 
facing  the  east  on  a  square  stone  beneath  the  nyagrodha 
tree,  and  Brahma  came  to  salute  him  ;  where  the  four 
heavenly  kings  offered  their  alms-bowls ;  where  the  five 
hundred  traders  gave  him  cooked  rice  and  honey  ;  where 
he  converted  the  brothers  Kasyapa  with  their  disciples  to 
the  number  of  one  thousand  souls — on  all  these  spots 
stupas  have  been  raised." 

The    following   passage   refers   to    Ceylon,   called   by 
Fa  Hsien  the  Land  of  the  Lion,  that  is,  Singhala,  from 


H4  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

the   name  of   a  trader  who   first  founded   a  kingdom 
there  : — 

"This  country  had  originally  no  inhabitants;  only 
devils  and  spirits  and  dragons  lived  in  it,  with  whom  the 
merchants  of  neighbouring  countries  came  to  trade. 
When  the  exchange  of  commodities  took  place,  the  devils 
and  spirits  did  not  appear  in  person,  but  set  out  their 
valuables  with  the  prices  attached.  Then  the  merchants, 
according  to  the  prices,  bought  the  things  and  carried 
them  off.  But  from  the  merchants  going  backwards  and 
forwards  and  stopping  on  their  way,  the  attractions  of 
the  place  became  known  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  neigh- 
bouring countries,  who  also  went  there,  and  thus  it 
became  a  great  nation.  The  temperature  is  very  agree- 
able in  this  country  ;  there  is  no  distinction  of  summer 
and  winter.  The  trees  and  plants  are  always  green,  and 
cultivation  of  the  soil  is  carried  on  as  men  please, 
without  regard  to  seasons." 

Meanwhile,  the  Indian  Kumarajiva,  one  of  the  Four 
Suns  of  Buddhism,  had  been  occupied  between  A.D.  405 
and  412  in  dictating  Chinese  commentaries  on  the  Budd- 
hist Canon  to  some  eight  hundred  priests.  He  also  wrote 
a  shastra  on  Reality  and  Appearance,  and  translated  the 
Diamond  Sutra,  which  has  done  more  to  popularise 
Buddhism  with  the  educated  classes  than  all  the  material 
parts  of  this  religion  put  together.  Chinese  poets  and 
philosophers  have  drawn  inspiration  and  instruction 
from  its  pages,  and  the  work  might  now  almost  be 
classed  as  a  national  classic.  Here  are  two  short 
extracts  : — 

(i.)  "  Buddha  said,  O  Subhuti,  tell  me  after  thy  wit,  can 
a  man  see  the  Buddha  in  the  flesh  ? 


KUMAR AJIVA— HSUAN  TSANG  115 

"  He  cannot,  O  World-Honoured,  and  for  this  reason  : 
The  Buddha  has  declared  that  flesh  has  no  objective 
existence. 

"Then  Buddha  told  Subhuti,  saying,  All  objective 
existences  are  unsubstantial  and  unreal.  If  a  man  can 
see  clearly  that  they  are  so,  then  can  he  see  the 
Buddha." 

(2.)  "  Buddha  said,  O  Subhuti,  if  one  man  were  to  col- 
lect the  seven  precious  things  from  countless  galaxies  of 
worlds,  and  bestow  all  these  in  charity,  and  another 
virtuous  man,  or  virtuous  woman,  were  to  become 
filled  with  the  spirit,  and  held  fast  by  this  sdtra,  preach- 
ing it  ever  so  little  for  the  conversion  of  mankind,  I 
say  unto  you  that  the  happiness  of  this  last  man  would 
far  exceed  the  happiness  of  that  other  man. 

"  Conversion  to  what  ?  To  the  disregard  of  objective 
existences,  and  to  absolute  quiescence  of  the  individual. 
And  why  ?  Because  every  external  phenomenon  is  like 
a  dream,  like  a  vision,  like  a  bubble,  like  shadow,  like 
dew,  like  lightning,  and  should  be  regarded  as  such." 

In  A.D.  520  Bodhidharma  came  to  China,  and  was 
received  with  honour.  He  had  been  the  son  of  a  king 
in  Southern  India.  He  taught  that  religion  was  not 
to  be  learnt  from  books,  but  that  man  should  seek  and 
find  the  Buddha  in  his  own  heart.  Just  before  his 
arrival  Sung  Yiin  had  been  sent  to  India  to  obtain 
more  Buddhist  books,  and  had  remained  two  years  in 
Kandahar,  returning  with  175  volumes. 

Then,  in  629,  HSUAN  TSANG  set  out  for  India  with 
the  same  object,  and  also  to  visit  the  holy  places  of 
Buddhism.  He  came  back  in  645,  bringing  with  him 
657  Buddhist  books,  besides  many  images  and  pictures 


n6  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

and  150  relics.  He  spent  the  rest  of  his  life  translating 
these  books,  and  also,  like  Fa  Hsien,  wrote  a  narrative 
of  his  travels. 

This  brings  us  down  to  the  beginning  of  the  Tang 
dynasty,  when  Buddhism  had  acquired,  in  spite  of  much 
opposition  and  even  persecution,  what  has  since  proved 
to  be  a  lasting  hold  upon  the  masses  of  the  Chinese 
people. 


BOOK   THE   THIRD 
MINOR  DYNASTIES  (A.D.  200—600) 


BOOK   THE   THIRD 
MINOR  DYNASTIES  (A.D.  200—600) 

CHAPTER  I 
POETRY— MISCELLANEOUS  LITERATURE 

THE  centuries  which  elapsed  between  A.D.  200  and  600 
were  not  favourable  to  the  development  and  growth 
of  a  national  literature.  During  a  great  part  of  the 
time  the  empire  was  torn  by  civil  wars ;  there  was 
not  much  leisure  for  book-learning,  and  few  patrons 
to  encourage  it.  Still  the  work  was  carried  on,  and 
many  great  names  have  come  down  to  us. 

The  dark  years  between  A.D.  196  and  221,  which 
witnessed  the  downfall  of  the  House  of  Han,  were  illu- 
mined by  the  names  of  seven  writers,  now  jointly  known 
as  the  Seven  Scholars  of  the  Chien-An  period.  They 
were  all  poets.  There  was  Hsu  KAN,  who  fell  under 
the  influence  of  Buddhism  and  translated  into  Chinese 
the  PranyamAla  shdstra  tikd  of  Nagardjuna.  The  fol- 
lowing lines  are  by  him  : — 

"  O  floating  clouds  that  swim  in  heaven  above, 
Bear  on  your  wings  these  words  to  him  I  love.  . 
Alas  !  you  float  along  nor  heed  my  pain^ 
And  leave  me  here  to  love  and  long  in  vain  / 


120  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

I  see  other  dear  ones  to  their  homes  return^ 
And  for  his  coming  shall  not  I  too  yearn  ? 
Since  my  lord  left — ah  me,  unhappy  day  ! — 
My  mirrors  dust  has  not  been  brushed  away; 
My  heart,  like  running  -water,  knows  no  peace. 
But  bleeds  and  bleeds  forever  without  cease* 

There  was  K'UNG  JUNG,  a  descendant  of  Confucius 
In  the  twentieth  degree,  and  a  most  precocious  child. 
At  ten  years  of  age  he  went  with  his  father  to  Lo-yang, 
where  Li  Ying,  the  Dragon  statesman,  was  at  the  height 
of  his  political  reputation.  Unable  from  the  press  of 
visitors  to  gain  admission,  he  told  the  doorkeeper  to 
inform  Li  Ying  that  he  was  a  connection,  and  thus 
succeeded  in  getting  in.  When  Li  Ying  asked  him 
what  the  connection  was,  he  replied,  "  My  ancestor  Con- 
fucius and  your  ancestor  Lao  Tzu  were  friends  en- 
gaged in  the  quest  for  truth,  so  that  you  and  I  may 
be  said  to  be  of  the  same  family."  Li  Ying  was 
astonished,  but  Ch'en  Wei  said,  "Cleverness  in  youth 
does  not  mean  brilliancy  in  later  life,"  upon  which 
K'ung  Jung  remarked,  "You,  sir,  must  evidently  have 
been  very  clever  as  a  boy."  Entering  official  life, 
he  rose  to  be  Governor  of  Po-hai  in  Shantung ;  but 
he  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  great  Ts'ao  Ts'ao, 
and  was  put  to  death  with  all  his  family.  He  was 
an  open-hearted  man,  and  fond  of  good  company. 
"  If  my  halls  are  full  of  guests,"  he  would  say,  "  and 
my  bottles  full  of  wine,  I  am  happy." 

The  following  is  a  specimen  of  his  poetry  : — 

"  The  wanderer  reaches  home  with  joy 
From  absence  of  a  year  and  more  : 
His  eye  seeks  a  beloved  boy — 

His  wife  lies  weeping  on  the  floor. 


K'UNG  JUNG— WANG  TS'AN  121 

"  They  whisper  he  is  gone.     The  glooms 

Of  evening  fall;  beyond  the  gate 
A  lonely  grave  in  outline  looms 
To  greet  the  sire  ivho  came  too  late. 

tt  Forth  to  the  little  mound  he  flings. 

Where  wild-flowers  bloom  on  every  side.  .  .  . 
His  bones  are  in  the  Yellow  Springs, 
His  flesh  like  dust  is  scattered  wide. 

" '  O  child,  who  never  knew  thy  sire. 

For  ever  now  to  be  unknown, 
Ere  long  thy  wandering  ghost  shall  tire 
Of  flitting  friendless  and  alone. 

M '  O  son,  man's  greatest  earthly  boon, 
With  thee  I  bury  hopes  and  fears.1 
He  bowed  his  head  in  grief,  and  soon 
His  breast  was  wet  with  rolling  tears. 

"  Lifers  dread  uncertainty  he  knows, 
But  oh  for  this  untimely  close  /" 

There  was  WANG  TS'AN  (A.D.  177-217),  a  learned  man 
who  wrote  an  Ars  Poetica,  not,  however,  in  verse.  A  youth 
of  great  promise,  he  excelled  as  a  poet,  although  the 
times  were  most  unfavourable  to  success.  It  has  been 
alleged,  with  more  or  less  truth,  that  all  Chinese  poetry 
is  pitched  in  the  key  of  melancholy  ;  that  the  favourite 
themes  of  Chinese  poets  are  the  transitory  character  of 
life  with  its  partings  and  other  ills,  and  the  inevitable  ap- 
proach of  death,  with  substitution  of  the  unknown  for  the 
known.  Wang  Ts'an  had  good  cause  for  his  lamentations. 
He  was  forced  by  political  disturbances  to  leave  his  home 
at  the  capital  and  seek  safety  in  flight.  There,  as  he 
tells  us, 

"  Wolves  and  tigers  work  their  own  sweet  will" 

On  the  way  he  finds 

u  Naught  but  bleached  bones  covering  the  plain  ahead? 


122  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

and  he  comes  across  a  famine-stricken  woman  who  had 
thrown  among  the  bushes  a  child  she  was  unable  to  feed. 
Arriving  at  the  Great  River,  the  setting  sun  brings  his 
feelings  to  a  head  : — 

"  Streaks  of  light  still  cling  to  the  hill-tops, 
While  a  deeper  shade  falls  upon  the  steep  slopes / 
The  fox  makes  his  -way  to  his  burrow, 
Birds  fly  back  to  their  homes  in  the  wood, 
Clear  sound  the  ripples  of  the  rushing  waves, 
Along  the  banks  the  gibbons  scream  and  cry, 
My  sleeves  are  fluttered  by  the  whistling  gale, 
The  lapels  of  my  robe  are  drenched  with  dew. 
The  livelong  night  I  cannot  close  my  eyes. 
I  arise  and  seize  my  guitar, 

Which,  ever  in  sympathy  with  man's  changing  moods, 
Now  sounds  responsive  to  my  grief" 

But  music  cannot  make  him  forget  his  kith  and  kin — 

"  Most  of  'them,  alas !  are  prisoners, 
And  weeping  will  be  my  portion  to  the  end. 
With  all  the  joyous  spots  in  the  empire, 
Why  must  I  remain  in  this  place? 

Ah,  like  the  grub  in  smartweed,  I  am  growing  insensible 
to  bitterness." 

By  the  last  line  he  means  to  hint  "  how  much  a  long 
communion  tends  to  make  us  what  we  are." 

There  was  YING  YANG,  who,  when  his  own  political 
career  was  cut  short,  wrote  a  poem  with  a  title  which 
may  be  interpreted  as  "  Regret  that  a  Bucephalus  should 
stand  idle." 

There  was  Liu  CH£NG,  who  was  put  to  death  for  daring 
to  cast  an  eye  upon  one  of  the  favourites  of  the  great 
general  Ts'ao  Ts'ao,  virtual  founder  of  the  House  of  Wei. 
CH'EN  LIN  and  YUAN  Yu  complete  the  tale. 

To  these  seven  names  an  eighth  and  a  ninth  are  added 


TS'AO  TSAO  123 

by  courtesy  :  those  of  TS'AO  TS'AO  above  mentioned,  and 
of  his  third  son,  Ts'ao  Chih,  the  poet.  The  former  played  a 
remarkable  part  in  Chinese  history.  His  father  had  been 
adopted  as  son  by  the  chief  eunuch  of  the  palace,  and  he 
himself  was  a  wild  young  man  much  given  to  coursing 
and  hawking.  He  managed,  however,  to  graduate  at 
the  age  of  twenty,  and,  after  distinguishing  himself  in  a 
campaign  against  insurgents,  raised  a  volunteer  force  to 
purge  the  country  of  various  powerful  chieftains  who 
threatened  the  integrity  of  the  empire.  By  degrees  the 
supreme  power  passed  into  his  hands,  and  he  caused  the 
weak  Emperor  to  raise  his  daughter  to  the  rank  of 
Empress.  He  is  popularly  regarded  as  the  type  of  a 
bold  bad  Minister  and  of  a  cunning  unscrupulous  rebel. 
His  large  armies  are  proverbial,  and  at  one  time  he  is 
said  to  have  had  so  many  as  a  million  of  men  under  arms. 
As  an  instance  of  the  discipline  which  prevailed  in  his 
camp,  it  is  said  that  he  once  condemned  himself  to  death 
for  having  allowed  his  horse  to  shy  into  a  field  of  grain, 
in  accordance  with  his  own  severe  regulations  against 
any  injury  to  standing  crops.  However,  in  lieu  of  losing 
his  head,  he  was  persuaded  to  satisfy  his  sense  of  justice 
by  cutting  off  his  hair.  The  following  lines  are  from  a 
song  by  him,  written  in  an  abrupt  metre  of  four  words 
to  the  line  : — 

"  Here  is  wine,  let  us  sing; 
For  man's  life  is  short, 
Like  the  morning  dew, 
Its  best  days  gone  by. 
But  though  we  would  rejoice^ 
Sorrows  are  hard  to  forget, 
What  will  make  us  forget  them? 
Wine,  and  only  wine." 

After  Ts'ao  Ts'ao's  death  came  the  epoch  of  the  Three 


124  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

Kingdoms,  the  romantic  story  of  which  is  told  in  the 
famous  novel  to  be  mentioned  later  on.  Ts'ao  Ts'ao's 
eldest  son  became  the  first  Emperor  of  one  of  these,  the 
Wei  Kingdom,  and  TS'AO  CHIH,  the  poet,  occupied  an 
awkward  position  at  court,  an  object  of  suspicion  and 
dislike.  At  ten  years  of  age  he  already  excelled  in  com- 
position, so  much  so  that  his  father  thought  he  must  be 
a  plagiarist ;  but  he  settled  the  question  by  producing 
off-hand  poems  on  any  given  theme.  "  If  all  the  talent 
of  the  world,"  said  a  contemporary  poet,  "were  repre- 
sented by  ten,  Ts'ao  Chih  would  have  eight,  I  should  have 
one,  and  the  rest  of  mankind  one  between  them."  There 
is  a  story  that  on  one  occasion,  at  the  bidding  of  his 
elder  brother,  probably  with  mischievous  intent,  he 
composed  an  impromptu  stanza  while  walking  only 
seven  steps.  It  has  been  remembered  more  for  its  point 
than  its  poetry  : — 

"  A  fine  dish  of  beans  had  been  placed  in  the  pot 
With  a  view  to  a  good  mess  of  pottage  all  hot. 
The  beanstalks,  aflame,  a  fierce  heat  were  begetting, 
The  beans  in  the  pot  were  all  fuming  and  fretting. 
Yet  the  beans  and  the  stalks  were  not  born  to  be  foes; 
Oh,  why  should  these  hurry  to  finish  off  those?" 

The  following  extract  from  a  poem  of  his  contains  a 
very  well-known  maxim,  constantly  in  use  at  the  present 
day  : — 

"  The  superior  man  lakes  precautions, 
And  avoids  giving  cause  for  suspicion. 
He  will  not  pull  up  his  shoes  in  a  melon-field, 
Nor  under  a  plum-tree  straighten  his  hat. 
Brothers-  and  sisters-in-law  may  not  join  hands, 
Elders  and youngers  may  not  walk  abreast; 
By  toil  and  humility  the  handle  is  grasped; 
Moderate  your  brilliancy,  and  difficulties  disappear? 


LIU  LING  125 

During  the  third  century  A.D.  another  and  more  mer- 
curial set  of  poets,  also  seven  in  number,  formed  them- 
selves into  a  club,  and  became  widely  famous  as  the 
Seven  Sages  of  the  Bamboo  Grove.  Among  these  was 
Liu  LlNG,  a  hard  drinker,  who  declared  that  to  a  drunken 
man  "the  affairs  of  this  world  appear  but  as  so  much 
duckweed  on  a  river."  He  wished  to  be  always  accom- 
panied by  a  servant  with  wine,  followed  by  another  with 
a  spade,  so  that  he  might  be  buried  where  he  fell.  On 
one  occasion,  yielding  to  the  entreaties  of  his  wife,  he 
promised  to  "  swear  off,"  and  bade  her  prepare  the  usual 
sacrifices  of  wine  and  meat.  When  all  was  ready,  he 
prayed,  saying,  "O  God,  who  didst  give  to  Liu  Ling  a 
reputation  through  wine,  he  being  able  to  consume  a 
gallon  at  a  sitting  and  requiring  a  quart  to  sober  him 
again,  listen  not  to  the  words  of  his  wife,  for  she  speaketh 
not  truth."  Thereupon  he  drank  up  the  sacrificial  wine, 
and  was  soon  as  drunk  as  ever.  His  bias  was  towards 
the  Tao  of  Lao  Tzu,  and  he  was  actually  plucked  for  his 
degree  in  consequence  of  an  essay  extolling  the  hetero- 
dox doctrine  of  Inaction.  The  following  skit  exhibits 
this  Taoist  strain  to  a  marked  degree  : — 

"An  old  gentleman,  a  friend  of  mine  (that  is,  himself), 
regards  eternity  as  but  a  single  day,  and  whole  centuries 
as  but  an  instant  of  time.  The  sun  and  moon  are  the 
windows  of  his  house ;  the  cardinal  points  are  the 
boundaries  of  his  domain.  He  wanders  unrestrained 
and  free ;  he  dwells  within  no  walls.  The  canopy  of 
heaven  is  his  roof ;  his  resting-place  is  the  lap  of  earth. 
He  follows  his  fancy  in  all  things.  He  is  never  for  a 
moment  without  a  \vine-flask  in  one  hand,  a  goblet  in 
the  other.  His  only  thought  is  wine  :  he  knows  of 
naught  beyond. 


126  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

"Two  respectable  philanthropists,  hearing  of  my 
friend's  weakness,  proceeded  to  tax  him  on  the  subject ; 
and  with  many  gestures  of  disapprobation,  fierce  scowls, 
and  gnashing  of  teeth,  preached  him  quite  a  sermon  on 
the  rules  of  propriety,  and  sent  his  faults  buzzing  round 
his  head  like  a  swarm  of  bees. 

"When  they  began,  the  old  gentleman  filled  himself 
another  bumper ;  and  sitting  down,  quietly  stroked  his 
beard  and  sipped  his  wine  by  turns,  until  at  length  he 
lapsed  into  a  semi-inebriate  state  of  placid  enjoyment, 
varied  by  intervals  of  absolute  unconsciousness  or  of 
partial  return  to  mental  lucidity.  His  ears  were  beyond 
the  reach  of  thunder ;  he  could  not  have  seen  a  moun- 
tain. Heat  and  cold  existed  for  him  no  more.  He  knew 
not  even  the  workings  of  his  own  mind.  To  him,  the 
affairs  of  this  world  appeared  but  as  so  much  duckweed 
on  a  river ;  while  the  two  philanthropists  at  his  side 
looked  like  two  wasps  trying  to  convert  a  caterpillar" 
(into  a  wasp,  as  the  Chinese  believe  is  done). 

Another  was  Hsi  K'ANG,  a  handsome  young  man, 
seven  feet  seven  inches  in  height,  who  was  married — a 
doubtful  boon — into  the.  Imperial  family.  His  favourite 
study  was  alchemistic  research,  and  he  passed  his  days 
sitting  under  a  willow-tree  in  his  courtyard  and  experi- 
menting in  the  transmutation  of  metals,  varying  his  toil 
with  music  and  poetry,  and  practising  the  art  of  breath- 
ing with  a  view  to  securing  immortality.  Happening, 
however,  to  offend  by  his  want  of  ceremony  one  of  the 
Imperial  princes,  who  was  also  a  student  of  alchemy,  he 
was  denounced  to  the  Emperor  as  a  dangerous  person 
and  a  traitor,  and  condemned  to  death.  Three  thousand 
disciples  offered  each  one  to  take  the  place  of  their 
beloved  master,  but  their  request  was  not  granted.  He 


HSIANG  HSIU— YUAN  CHI  127 

met  his  fate  with  fortitude,  calmly  watching  the  shadows 
thrown  by  the  sun  and  playing  upon  his  lute. 

The  third  was  HSIANG  Hsiu,  who  also  tried  his  hand 
at  alchemy,  and  whose  commentary  on  Chuang  Tzii  was 
stolen,  as  has  been  already  stated,  by  Kuo  Hsiang. 

The  fourth  was  YUAN  HSIEN,  a  wild  harum-scarum 
fellow,  but  a  performer  on  the  guitar  and  a  great  autho- 
rity on  the  theory  of  music.  He  and  his  uncle,  both 
poverty-stricken,  lived  on  one  side  of  the  road,  while  a 
wealthier  branch  of  the  family  lived  on  the  other  side. 
On  the  seventh  of  the  seventh  moon  the  latter  put  out  all 
their  grand  fur  robes  and  fine  clothes  to  air,  as  is  cus- 
tomary on  that  day  ;  whereupon  Yuan  Hsien  on  his  side 
forked  up  a  pair  of  the  short  breeches,  called  calf-nose 
drawers,  worn  by  the  common  coolies,  explaining  to  a 
friend  that  he  was  a  victim  to  the  tyranny  of  custom. 

The  fifth  was  YUAN  CHI,  another  musician,  whose  harp- 
sichords became  the  "Strads"  of  China.  He  entered  the 
army  and  rose  to  a  high  command,  and  then  exchanged 
his  post  for  one  where  he  had  heard  there  was  a  better 
cook.  He  was  a  model  of  filial  piety,  and  when  his 
mother  died  he  wept  so  violently  that  he  brought  up 
several  pints  of  blood.  Yet  when  Chi  Hsi  went  to  con- 
dole with  him,  he  showed  only  the  whites  of  his  eyes  (that 
is,  paid  no  attention  to  him) ;  while  Chi  Hsi's  brother,  who 
carried  along  with  him  a  jar  of  wine  and  a  guitar,  was 
welcomed  with  the  pupils.  His  best-known  work  is  a 
political  and  allegorical  poem  in  thirty-eight  stanzas 
averaging  about  twelve  lines  to  each.  The  allusions  in 
this  are  so  skilfully  veiled  as  to  be  quite  unrecognisable 
without  a  commentary,  such  concealment  being  abso- 
lutely necessary  for  the  protection  of  the  author  in  the 
troublous  times  during  which  he  wrote. 


128  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

The  sixth  was  WANG  JUNG,  who  could  look  at  the  sun 
without  being  dazzled,  and  lastly  there  was  SHAN  T'AO, 
a  follower  of  Taoist  teachings,  who  was  spoken  of  as 
"uncut  jade"  and  as  "gold  ore." 

Later  on,  in  the  fourth  century,  comes  Fu  Mi,  of 
whom  nothing  is  known  beyond  his  verses,  of  which  the 
following  is  a  specimen  : — 

"  Thy  chariot  and  horses 

have  gone,  and  I  fret 
And  long  for  the  lover 

I  ne'er  can  forget. 

O  wanderer,  bound 

in  far  countries  to  dwell^ 
Would  I  were  thy  shadow  ! — 

fd  follow  thee  well; 

And  though  clouds  and  though  darkness 
my  presence  should  hide. 

In  the  bright  light  of  day 

I  would  stand  by  thy  side  /  " 

We  now  reach  a  name  which  is  still  familiar  to  all 
students  of  poetry  in  the  Middle  Kingdom.  TAG  CH  IEN 
(A.D.  365-427),  or  T'ao  Yuan-ming  as  he  was  called  in 
early  life,  after  a  youth  of  poverty  obtained  an  appoint- 
ment as  magistrate.  But  he  was  unfitted  by  nature  for 
official  life ;  all  he  wanted,  to  quote  his  own  prayer,  was 
"length  of  years  and  depth  of  wine."  He  only  held  the 
post  for  eighty-three  days,  objecting  to  receive  a  superior 
officer  with  the  usual  ceremonial  on  the  ground  that  "he 
could  not  crook  the  hinges  of  his  back  for  five  pecks  of 
rice  a  day,"  such  being  the  regulation  pay  of  a  magis- 
trate. He  then  retired  into  private  life  and  occupied 
himself  with  poetry,  music,  and  the  culture  of  flowers, 
especially  chrysanthemums,  which  are  inseparably  asso- 


T'AO   CH'IEN  129 

elated  with  his  name.  In  the  latter  pursuit  he  was 
seconded  by  his  wife,  who  worked  in  the  back  garden 
while  he  worked  in  the  front.  His  retirement  from 
office  is  the  subject  of  the  following  piece,  of  the 
poetical-prose  class,  which,  in  point  of  style,  is  con- 
sidered one  of  the  masterpieces  of  the  language  : — 

"  Homewards  I  bend  my  steps.  My  fields,  my  gardens, 
are  choked  with  weeds :  should  I  not  go  ?  My  soul  has 
led  a  bondsman's  life :  why  should  I  remain  to  pine  ?  But 
I  will  waste  no  grief  upon  the  past ;  I  will  devote  my 
energies  to  the  future.  I  have  not  wandered  far  astray. 
I  feel  that  I  am  on  the  right  track  once  again. 

"  Lightly,  lightly,  speeds  my  boat  along,  my  garments 
fluttering  to  the  gentle  breeze.  I  inquire  my  route  as  I  go. 
I  grudge  the  slowness  of  the  dawning  day.  From  afar 
I  descry  my  old  home,  and  joyfully  press  onwards  in  my 
haste.  The  servants  rush  forth  to  meet  me;  my  children 
cluster  at  the  gate.  The  place  is  a  wilderness;  but  there 
is  the  old  pine-tree  and  my  chrysanthemums.  I  take 
the  little  ones  by  the  hand,  and  pass  in.  Wine  is  brought 
in  full  jars,  and  I  pour  out  in  brimming  cups.  I  gaze 
out  at  my  favourite  branches.  I  loll  against  the  window 
in  my  new-found  freedom.  I  look  at  the  sweet  children 
on  my  knee. 

"  And  now  I  take  my  pleasure  in  my  garden.  There 
is  a  gate,  but  it  is  rarely  opened.  I  lean  on  my  staff  as 
I  wander  about  or  sit  down  to  rest.  I  raise  my  head 
and  contemplate  the  lovely  scene.  Clouds  rise,  unwilling, 
from  the  bottom  of  the  hills;  the  weary  bird  seeks  its 
nest  again.  Shadows  vanish,  but  still  I  linger  around  my 
lonely  pine.  Hume  once  more!  I'll  have  no  friend- 
ships to  distract  me  hence.  The  times  are  out  of  joint 
for  me ;  and  what  have  I  to  seek  from  men  ?  In  the 


130  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

pure  enjoyment  of  the  family  circle  I  will  pass  my  days, 
cheering  my  idle  hours  with  lute  and  book.  My  hus- 
bandmen will  tell  me  when  spring-time  is  nigh,  and  when 
there  will  be  work  in  the  furrowed  fields.  Thither  I 
shall  repair  by  cart  or  by  boat,  through  the  deep  gorge, 
over  the  dizzy  cliff,  trees  bursting  merrily  into  leaf,  the 
streamlet  swelling  from  its  tiny  source.  Glad  is  this 
renewal  of  life  in  due  season;  but  for  me,  I  rejoice  that 
my  journey  is  over.  Ah,  how  short  a  time  it  is  that  we 
are  here  !  Why  then  not  set  our  hearts  at  rest,  ceasing 
to  trouble  whether  we  remain  or  go  ?  What  boots  it  to 
wear  out  the  soul  with  anxious  thoughts  ?  I  want  not 
wealth  ;  I  want  not  power ;  heaven  is  beyond  my  hopes. 
Then  let  me  stroll  through  the  bright  hours  as  they  pass, 
in  my  garden  among  my  flowers  ;  or  I  will  mount  the 
hill  and  sing  my  song,  or  weave  my  verse  beside  the 
limpid  brook.  Thus  will  I  work  out  my  allotted  span, 
content  with  the  appointments  of  Fate,  my  spirit  free 
from  care." 

The  "  Peach-blossom  Fountain "  of  Tao  Ch'ien  is  a 
well-known  and  charming  allegory,  a  form  of  literature 
much  cultivated  by  Chinese  writers.  It  tells  how  a  fisher- 
man lost  his  way  among  the  creeks  of  a  river,  and  came 
upon  a  dense  and  lovely  grove  of  peach-trees  in  full 
bloom,  through  which  he  pushed  his  boat,  anxious  to 
see  how  far  the  grove  extended. 

"  He  found  that  the  peach-trees  ended  where  the 
water  began,  at  the  foot  of  a  hill ;  and  there  he  espied 
what  seemed  to  be  a  cave  with  light  issuing  from  it. 
So  he  made  fast  his  boat,  and  crept  in  through  a  narrow 
entrance,  which  shortly  ushered  him  into  a  new  world 
of  level  country,  of  fine  houses,  of  rich  fields,  of  fine 
pools,  and  of  luxuriance  of  mulberry  and  bamboo- 


T'AO  CH4IEN  131 

Highways  of  traffic  ran  north  and  south ;  sounds  of 
crowing  cocks  and  barking  dogs  were  heard  around; 
the  dress  of  the  people  who  passed  along  or  were 
at  work  in  the  fields  was  of  a  strange  cut ;  while 
young  and  old  alike  appeared  to  be  contented  and 
happy." 

He  is  told  that  the  ancestors  of  these  people  had 
taken  refuge  there  some  five  centuries  before  to  escape 
the  troublous  days  of  the  "  First  Emperor,"  and  that 
there  they  had  remained,  cut  off  completely  from  the 
rest  of  the  human  race.  On  his  returning  home  the  story 
is  noised  abroad,  and  the  Governor  sends  out  men  to 
find  this  strange  region,  but  the  fisherman  is  never 
able  to  find  it  again.  The  gods  had  permitted  the  poet 
to  go  back  for  a  brief  span  to  the  peach-blossom  days 
of  his  youth. 

One  critic  speaks  of  T'ao  Ch'ien  as  "drunk  with  the 
fumes  of  spring."  Another  says,  "  His  heart  was  fixed 
upon  loyalty  and  duty,  while  his  body  was  content  with 
leisure  and  repose.  His  emotions  were  real,  his  scenery 
was  real,  his  facts  were  real,  and  his  thoughts  were 
real.  His  workmanship  was  so  exceedingly  fine  as  to 
appear  natural ;  his  adze  and  chisel  (labor  limae)  left  no 
traces  behind." 

Much  of  his  poetry  is  political,  and  bristles  with 
allusions  to  events  which  are  now  forgotten,  mixed  up 
with  thoughts  and  phrases  which  are  greatly  admired 
by  his  countrymen.  Thus,  when  he  describes  meeting 
with  an  old  friend  in  a  far-off  land,  such  a  passage  as 
this  would  be  heavily  scored  by  editor  or  critic  with 
marks  of  commendation  : — 

"  Ere  words  be  spoke,  the  heart  is  drunk; 
What  need  to  call  for  ivine  ?  " 


132  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

The  following  is  one  of  his  occasional  poems : — 

"  A  scholar  lives  on  yonder  hill, 

His  clothes  are  rarely  whole  to  view, 

Nine  times  a  month  he  eats  his  fill. 
Once  in  ten  years  his  hat  is  new, 

A  wretched  lot !— and  yet  the  while 

He  ever  wears  a  sunny  smile. 

Longing  to  know  what  like  was  he, 
At  dawn  my  steps  a  path  unclosed 

Where  dark  firs  left  the  passage  free 
And  on  the  eaves  the  white  clouds  dozed. 

But  he,  as  spying  my  intent, 

Seized  his  guitar  and  swept  the  strings; 

Up  flew  a  crane  towards  heaven  bent, 
And  now  a  startled  pheasant  springs.  .  .  . 

Oh,  let  me  rest  with  thee  until 

The  winter  winds  again  blow  chill  J" 

PAO  CHAO  was  an  official  and  a  poet  who  perished, 
A.D.  466,  in  a  rebellion.  Some  of  his  poetry  has  been 
preserved : — 

"  What  do  these  halls  of  jasper  mean, 

and  shining  floor, 
Where  tapestries  of  satin  screen 

window  and  door  f 
A  lady  on  a  lonely  seat, 

embroidering 
Fair  flowers  which  seem  to  smell  as  sweet 

as  buds  in  spring. 
Swallows  flit  past,  a  zephyr  shakes 

the  plum-blooms  down; 
She  draws  the  blind,  a  goblet  takes 

her  thoughts  to  drown. 
And  now  she  sits  in  tears,  or  hums, 

nursing  her  grief 
That  in  her  life  joy  rarely  comes 

to  bring  relief.  .  . 


HSIAO  YEN  133 

Oh,  for  the  humble  turtle's  flight, 

my  mate  and  I ; 
Not  the  lone  crane  far  out  of  sight 

beyond  the  sky  !  " 

The  original  name  of  a  striking  character  who,  in  A.D. 
502,  placed  himself  upon  the  throne  as  first  Emperor  of 
the  Liang  dynasty,  was  HSIAO  YEN.  He  was  a  devout 
Buddhist,  living  upon  priestly  fare  and  taking  only  one 
meal  a  day  ;  and  on  two  occasions,  in  527  and  529,  he 
actually  adopted  the  priestly  garb.  He  also  wrote  a 
Buddhist  ritual  in  ten  books.  Interpreting  the  Buddhist 
commandment  "  Thou  shalt  not  kill "  in  its  strictest 
sense,  he  caused  the  sacrificial  victims  to  be  made  of 
dough.  The  following  short  poem  is  from  his  pen  : — 

"  Trees  grow,  not  alike, 

by  the  mound  and  the  moat; 
Birds  sing  in  the  forest 

•with  varying  note; 
Of  the  fish  in  the  river 

some  dive  and  some  float. 
The  mountains  rise  high 

and  the  waters  sink  low, 
But  the  why  and  the  wherefore 

•we  never  can  know." 

Another  well-known  poet  who  lived  into  the  seventh 
century  is  HSIEH  TAO-HENG.  He  offended  Yang  Ti,  the 
second  Emperor  of  the  Sui  dynasty,  by  writing  better 
verses  than  his  Majesty,  and  an  excuse  was  found  for 
putting  him  to  death.  One  of  the  most  admired  couplets 
in  the  language  is  associated  with  his  name  though 
not  actually  by  him,  its  author  being  unknown.  To 
amuse  a  party  of  friends  Hsieh  Tao-heng  had  written 
impromptu, 

M  A  week  in  the  spring  to  the  exile  appears 
Like  an  absence  from  home  of  a  couple  of  years* 


134  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

A  "  southerner  "  who  was  present  sneered  at  the  shallow- 
ness  of  the  conceit,  and  immediately  wrote  down  the 
following : — 

"  If  home,  with  the  ivild  geese  of  autumn, 

wJre  going, 

Our  hearts  will  be  off  ere  the  spring  flowers 

are  blowing? 

An  official  of  the  Sui  dynasty  was  Fu  I  (A.D.  554-639), 
who  became  Historiographer  under  the  first  Emperor  of 
the  T'ang  dynasty.  He  had  a  strong  leaning  towards 
Taoism,  and  edited  the  Tao-Te-Ching.  At  the  same  time 
he  presented  a  memorial  asking  that  the  Buddhist 
religion  might  be  abolished ;  and  when  Hsiao  Yu,  a 
descendant  of  Hsiao  Yen  (above),  questioned  him  on  the 
subject,  he  said,  "  You  were  not  born  in  a  hollow  mul- 
berry-tree ;  yet  you  respect  a  religion  which  does  not 
recognise  the  tie  between  father  and  son  ! "  He  urged 
that  at  any  rate  priests  and  nuns  should  be  compelled  to 
marry  and  bring  up  families,  and  not  escape  from  con- 
tributing their  share  to  the  revenue,  adding  that  Hsiao 
Yii  by  defending  their  doctrines  showed  himself  no  better 
than  they  were.  At  this  Hsiao  Yii  held  up  his  hands, 
and  declared  that  hell  was  made  for  such  men  as  Fu  I. 
The  result  was  that  severe  restrictions  were  placed  for 
a  short  time  upon  the  teachers  of  Buddhism.  The 
Emperor  T'ai  Tsung  once  got  hold  of  a  Tartar  priest 
who  could  "charm  people  into  unconsciousness,  and 
then  charm  them  back  to  life  again,"  and  spoke  of  his 
powers  to  Fu  I.  The  latter  said  confidently,  "  He  will 
not  be  able  to  charm  me  ; "  and  when  put  to  the  test, 
the  priest  completely  failed.  He  was  the  originator  of 
epitaphs,  and  wrote  his  own,  as  follows  : — 


WANG  CHI  135 

ufu  1  loved  the  green  hills  and  the  white  clouds  .  .  . 
Alas  !  he  died  of  drink." 

WANG  CHI  of  the  sixth  and  seventh  centuries  A.D.,  was 
a  wild  and  unconventional  spirit,  with  a  fatal  fondness 
for  wine,  which  caused  his  dismissal  from  office.  His 
capacity  for  liquor  was  boundless,  and  he  was  known  as 
the  Five-bottle  Scholar.  In  his  lucid  intervals  he  wrote 
much  beautiful  prose  and  verse,  which  may  still  be  read 
with  pleasure.  The  following  is  from  an  account  of  his 
visit  to  Drunk-Land,  the  story  of  which  is  told  with  all  due 
gravity  and  in  a  style  modelled  upon  that  which  is  found 
in  ordinary  accounts  of  strange  outlandish  nations  : — 

"This  country  is  many  thousand  miles  from  the 
Middle  Kingdom.  It  is  a  vast,  boundless  plain,  without 
mountains  or  undulations  of  any  kind.  The  climate  is 
equable,  there  being  neither  night,  nor  day,  nor  cold,  nor 
heat.  The  manners  and  customs  are  everywhere  the 
same. 

"  There  are  no  villages  nor  congregations  of  persons. 
The  inhabitants  are  ethereal  in  disposition,  and  know 
neither  love,  hate,  joy,  nor  anger.  They  inhale  the 
breeze  and  sip  the  dew,  eating  none  of  the  five  cereals. 
Calm  in  repose,  slow  of  gait,  they  mingle  with  birds, 
beasts,  fishes,  and  scaly  creatures,  ignorant  of  boats, 
chariots,  weapons,  or  implements  in  general. 

"  The  Yellow  Emperor  went  on  a  visit  to  the  capital  of 
Drunk-Land,  and  when  he  came  back,  he  was  quite  out 
of  conceit  with  the  empire,  the  government  of  which 
seemed  to  him  but  paltry  trifling  with  knotted  cords. 

"  Yuan  Chi,  T'ao  Ch'ien,1  and  some  others,  about  ten 
in  all,  made  a  trip  together  to  Drunk-Land,  and  sank, 

1  Here  the  poet  makes  a  mistake.     These  two  were  not  contemporaries. 


136  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

never  to  rise  again.  They  were  buried  where  they  fell, 
and  now  in  the  Middle  Kingdom  they  are  dubbed  Spirits 
of  Wine. 

"Alas,  I  could  not  bear  that  the  pure  and  peaceful 
domain  of  Drunk-Land  should  come  to  be  regarded  as  a 
preserve  of  the  ancients.  So  I  went  there  myself." 

The  period  closes  with  the  name  of  the  Emperor 
known  as  Yang  Ti,  already  mentioned  in  connec- 
tion with  the  poet  Hsieh  Tao-heng.  The  murderer, 
first  of  his  elder  brother  and  then  of  his  father,  he 
mounted  the  throne  in  A.D.  605,  and  gave  himself  up  to 
extravagance  and  debauchery.  The  trees  in  his  park 
were  supplied  in  winter  with  silken  leaves  and  flowers, 
and  birds  were  almost  exterminated  to  provide  a  suffi- 
cient supply  of  down  for  his  cushions.  After  reigning 
for  thirteen  years  this  unlikely  patron  of  literature  fell  a 
victim  to  assassination.  Yet  in  spite  of  his  otherwise 
disreputable  character,  Yang  Ti  prided  himself  upon  his 
literary  attainments.  He  set  one  hundred  scholars  to 
work  editing  a  collection  of  classical,  medical,  and  other 
treatises  ;  and  it  was  under  his  reign,  in  A.D.  606,  that 
the  examination  for  the  second  or  "master  of  arts" 
degree  was  instituted. 


CLASSICAL  SCHOLARSHIP 

IN  the  domains  of  classical  and  general  literature  HUANG- 
FU  Mi  (A.D.  215-282)  occupies  an  honourable  place. 
Beginning  life  at  the  ploughtail,  by  perseverance  he 
became  a  fine  scholar,  and  adopted  literature  as  a  pro- 
fession. In  spite  of  severe  rheumatism  he  was  never 
without  a  book  in  his  hand,  and  became  so  absorbed 
in  his  work  that  he  would  forget  all  about  meals  and 
bedtime.  He  was  called  the  Book-Debauchee,  and  once 
when  he  wished  to  borrow  works  from  the  Emperor 
Wu  Ti  of  the  Chin  dynasty,  whose  proffers  of  office  he 
had  refused,  his  Majesty  sent  him  back  a  cart-load  to 
go  on  with.  He  produced  essays,  poetry,  and  several 
important  biographical  works.  His  work  on  the  Spring 
and  Autumn  Annals  had  also  considerable  vogue. 

SUN  SHU-JAN,  of  about  the  same  date,  distinguished 
himself  by  his  works  on  the  Confucian  Canon,  and  wrote 
on  the  Erh  Ya. 

HstJN  Hsu  (d.  A.D.  289)  aided  in  drawing  up  a  Penal 
Code  for  the  newly-established  Chin  dynasty,  took  a 
leading  part  in  editing  the  Bamboo  Annals,  which  had 
just  been  discovered  in  Honan,  provided  a  preface  to 
the  Mu  Tlien  Tzii  Chuan,  and  also  wrote  on  music. 

Kuo  HsiANG  (d.  A.D.  312)  occupied  himself  chiefly 
with  the  philosophy  of  Lao  Tzu  and  with  the  writings 


138  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

of  Chuang  Tzu.  It  was  said  of  him  that  his  conver- 
sation was  like  the  continuous  downflow  of  a  rapid,  or 
the  rush  of  water  from  a  sluice. 

Kuo  P'O  (d,  A.D.  324)  was  a  scholar  of  great  repute. 
Besides  editing  various  important  classical  works,  he 
was  a  brilliant  exponent  of  the  doctrines  of  Taoism  and 
the  reputed  founder  of  the  art  of  geomancy  as  applied 
to  graves,  universally  practised  in  China  at  the  present 
day.  He  was  also  learned  in  astronomy,  divination,  and 
natural  philosophy. 

FAN  YEH,  executed  for  treason  in  A.D.  445,  is  chiefly 
famous  for  his  history  of  the  Han  dynasty  from  about 
the  date  of  the  Christian  era,  when  the  dynasty  was 
interrupted,  as  has  been  stated,  by  a  usurper,  down 
to  the. final  collapse  two  hundred  years  later. 

SH^N  Yo  (A.D.  441-513),  another  famous  scholar,  was 
the  son  of  a  Governor  of  Huai-nan,  whose  execution  in 
A.D.  453  caused  him  to  go  for  a  time  into  hiding.  Poor 
and  studious,  he  is  said  to  have  spent  the  night  in 
repeating  what  he  had  learnt  by  day,  as  his  mother, 
anxious  on  account  of  his  health,  limited  his  supply 
of  oil  and  fuel.  Entering  official  life,  he  rose  to 
high  office,  from  which  he  retired  in  ill-health,  loaded 
with  honours.  Personally,  he  was  remarkable  for  hav- 
ing two  pupils  to  his  left  eye.  He  was  a  strict  tee- 
totaller, and  lived  most  austerely.  He  had  a  library 
of  twenty  thousand  volumes.  He  was  the  author  of 
the  histories  of  the  Chin,  Liu  Sung,  and  Ch'i  dynasties. 
He  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  to  classify  the  four 
tones.  In  his  autobiography  he  writes,  "  The  poets  of 
old,  during  the  past  thousand  years,  never  hit  upon 
this  plan.  I  alone  discovered  its  advantages."  The 
Emperor  Wu  Ti  of  the  Liang  dynasty  one  day  said  to 


HSIAO  T'UNG  139 

him,  "Come,  tell  me,  what  are  these  famous  four 
tones?"  "They  are  whatever  your  Majesty  pleases  to 
make  them,"  replied  Shen  Yo,  skilfully  selecting  for 
his  answer  four  characters  which  illustrated,  and  in 
the  usual  order,  the  four  tones  in  question. 

HSIAO  T'UNG  (A.D.  501-531)  was  the  eldest  son  of 
Hsiao  Yen,  the  founder  of  the  Liang  dynasty,  whom 
he  predeceased.  Before  he  was  five  years  old  he  was 
reported  to  have  learned  the  Classics  by  heart,  and 
his  later  years  were  marked  by  great  literary  ability, 
notably  in  verse-making.  Handsome  and  of  charming 
manners,  mild  and  forbearing,  he  was  universally  loved. 
In  527  he  nursed  his  mother  through  her  last  illness, 
and  his  grief  for  her  death  impaired  his  naturally  fine 
constitution,  for  it  was  only  at  the  earnest  solicitation 
of  his  father  that  he  consented  either  to  eat  or  drink 
during  the  period  of  mourning.  Learned  men  were  sure 
of  his  patronage,  and  his  palace  contained  a  large  library. 
A  lover  of  nature,  he  delighted  to  ramble  with  scholars 
about  his  beautiful  park,  to  which  he  declined  to  add 
the  attraction  of  singing-girls.  When  the  price  of  grain 
rose  in  consequence  of  the  war  with  Wei  in  526,  he  lived 
on  the  most  frugal  fare  ;  and  throughout  his  life  his 
charities  were  very  large  and  kept  secret,  being  dis- 
tributed by  trusty  attendants  who  sought  out  all  cases 
of  distress.  He  even  emptied  his  own  wardrobe  for 
the  benefit  of  the  poor,  and  spent  large  sums  in  burying 
the  outcast  dead.  Against  forced  labour  on  public 
works  he  vehemently  protested.  To  his  father  he  was 
most  respectful,  and  wrote  to  him  when  he  himself  was 
almost  at  the  last  gasp,  in  the  hope  of  concealing  his 
danger.  But  he  is  remembered  now  not  so  much  for 
his  virtues  as  for  his  initiation  of  a  new  department  ir> 


1 40  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

literature.  A  year  before  his  death  he  completed  the 
Wen  Hsuan,  the  first  published  collection  of  choice  works, 
whole  or  in  part,  of  a  large  number  of  authors.  These 
were  classified  under  such  heads  as  poetry  of  various 
kinds,  essays,  inscriptions,  memorials,  funeral  orations, 
epitaphs,  and  prefaces. 

The  idea  thus  started  was  rapidly  developed,  and 
has  been  continued  down  to  modern  times.  Huge  col- 
lections of  works  have  from  time  to  time  been  reprinted 
in  uniform  editions,  and  many  books  which  might 
otherwise  have  perished  have  been  preserved  for  grate- 
ful posterity.  The  Record  of  the  Buddhistic  Kingdoms 
by  Fa  Hsien  may  be  quoted  as  an  example. 


BOOK   THE    FOURTH 
THE  TANG  DYNASTY  (A.D.  600-900) 


BOOK  THE  FOURTH 
THE  TANG  DYNASTY  (A.D.  600-900) 

CHAPTER    I 

POETRY 

THE  Tang  dynasty  is  usually  associated  in  Chinese 
minds  with  much  romance  of  love  and  war,  with  wealth, 
culture,  and  refinement,  with  frivolity,  extravagance,  and 
dissipation,  but  most  of  all  with  poetry.  China's  best 
efforts  in  this  direction  were  chiefly  produced  within  the 
limits  of  its  three  hundred  years'  duration,  and  they  have 
been  carefully  preserved  as  finished  models  for  future 
poets  of  all  generations. 

"Poetry,"  says  a  modern  Chinese  critic,  "came  into 
being  with  the  Odes,  developed  with  the  Li  Sao, 
burst  forth  and  reached  perfection  under  the  T'angs. 
Some  good  work  was  indeed  done  under  the  Han  and 
Wei  dynasties  ;  the  writers  of  those  days  seemed  to  have 
material  in  abundance,  but  language  inadequate  to  its 
expression." 

The  "  Complete  Collection  of  the  Poetry  of  the  T'ang 
Dynasty,"  published  in  1707,  contains  48,900  poems  of 
all  kinds,  arranged  in  900  books,  and  filling  thirty  good- 
sized  volumes.  Some  Chinese  writers  divide  the  dynasty 
into  three  poetical  periods,  called  Early,  Glorious,,  and 


144  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

Late ;  and  they  profess  to  detect  in  the  works  assigned 
to  each  the  corresponding  characteristics  of.  growth, 
fulness,  and  decay.  Others  insert  a  Middle  period  be- 
tween the  last  two,  making  four  periods  in  all.  For 
general  purposes,  however,  it  is  only  necessary  to  state, 
that  since  the  age  of  the  Hans  the  meanings  of  words 
had  gradually  come  to  be  more  definitely  fixed,  and  the 
structural  arrangement  more  uniform  and  more  polished. 
Imagination  began  to  come  more  freely  into  play,  and 
the  language  to  flow  more  easily  and  more  musically, 
as  though  responsive  to  the  demands  of  art.  A  Chinese 
poem  is  at  best  a  hard  nut  to  crack,  expressed  as  it 
usually  is  in  lines  of  five  or  seven  monosyllabic  root- 
ideas,  without  inflection,  agglutination,  or  grammatical 
indication  of  any  kind,  the  connection  between  which 
has  to  be  inferred  by  the  reader  from  the  logic, 
from  the  context,  and  least  perhaps  of  all  from  the 
syntactical  arrangement  of  the  words.  Then,  again, 
the  poet  is  hampered  not  only  by  rhyme  but  also  by 
tone.  For  purposes  of  poetry  the  characters  in  the 
Chinese  language  are  all  ranged  under  two  tones,  as 
fiats  and  sharps,  and  these  occupy  fixed  positions  just 
as  dactyls,  spondees,  trochees,  and  anapaests  in  the  con- 
struction of  Latin  verse.  As  a  consequence,  the  natural 
order  of  words  is  often  entirely  sacrificed  to  the  exigen- 
cies of  tone,  thus  making  it  more  difficult  than  ever  for 
the  reader  to  grasp  the  sense.  In  a  stanza  of  the  ordi- 
nary five-character  length  the  following  tonal  arrange- 
ment would  appear  : — 

Sharp  sharp    flat  flat  sharp 

Flat  flat        sharp  sharp  flat 

Flat  flat       flat  sharp  sharp 

Sharp  sharp     sharp  flat  flat. 


POETRY  145 

The  effect  produced  by  these  tones  is  very  marked  and 
pleasing  to  the  ear,  and  often  makes  up  for  the  faulti- 
ness  of  the  rhymes,  which  are  simply  the  rhymes  of  the 
Odes  as  heard  2500  years  ago,  many  of  them  of  course 
being  no  longer  rhymes  at  all.  Thus,  there  is  as  much 
artificiality  about  a  stanza  of  Chinese  verse  as  there 
is  about  an  Alcaic  stanza  in  Latin.  But  in  the  hands 
of  the  most  gifted  this  artificiality  is  altogether  concealed 
by  art,  and  the  very  trammels  of  tone  and  rhyme  become 
transfigured,  and  seem  to  be  necessary  aids  and  adjuncts 
to  success.  Many  works  have  been  published  to  guide 
the  student  in  his  admittedly  difficult  task.  The  first 
rule  in  one  of  these  seems  so  comprehensive  as  to  make 
further  perusal  quite  unnecessary.  It  runs  thus  : — 
"  Discard  commonplace  form ;  discard  commonplace 
ideas ;  discard  commonplace  phrasing ;  discard  com- 
monplace words  ;  discard  commonplace  rhymes." 

A  long  poem  does  not  appeal  to  the  Chinese  mind. 
There  is  no  such  thing  as  an  epic  in  the  language, 
though,  of  course,  there  are  many  pieces  extending  to 
several  hundred  lines.  Brevity  is  indeed  the  soul  of 
a  Chinese  poem,  which  is  valued  not  so  much  for  what 
it  says  as  for  what  it  suggests.  As  in  painting,  so  in 
poetry  suggestion  is  the  end  and  aim  of  the  artist,  who 
in  each  case  may  be  styled  an  impressionist.  The  ideal 
length  is  twelve  lines,  and  this  is  the  limit  set  to  candi- 
dates at  the  great  public  examinations  at  the  present 
day,  the  Chinese  holding  that  if  a  poet  cannot  say 
within  such  compass  what  he  has  to  say  it  may  very 
well  be  left  unsaid.  The  eight-line  poem  is  also  a 
favourite,  and  so,  but  for  its  extreme  difficulty,  is  the 
four-line  epigram,  or  "stop-short,"  so  called  because 
of  its  abruptness,  though,  as  the  critics  explain,  "  it  is 


146  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

only  the  words  which  stop,  the  sense  goes  on,"  some 
train  of  thought  having  been  suggested  to  the  reader. 
The  latter  form  of  verse  was  in  use  so  far  back  as  the 
Han  dynasty,  but  only  reached  perfection  under  the 
Tangs.  Although  consisting  of  only  twenty  or  twenty- 
eight  words,  according  to  the  measure  employed,  it  is 
just  long  enough  for  the  poet  to  introduce,  to  develop, 
to  embellish,  and  to  conclude  his  theme  in  accordance 
with  certain  established  laws  of  composition.  The  third 
line  is  considered  the  most  troublesome  to  produce, 
some  poets  even  writing  it  first ;  the  last  line  should 
contain  a  "surprise"  or  denouement.  We  are,  in  fact, 
reminded  of  the  old  formula,  "Omne  epigramma  sit 
instar  apis,"  &c.,  better  known  in  its  English  dress : — 

"  The  qualities  rare  in  a  bee  that  we  meet 

In  an  epigram  never  should  fail ; 
The  body  should  always  be  little  and  sweet, 
And  a  sting  should  be  left  in  the  tail" 

The  following  is  an  early  specimen,  by  an  anonymous 
writer,  of  the  four-line  poem  : — 

"  The  bright  moon  shining  overhead, 

The  stream  beneath  the  breezes  touch, 
Are  pure  and  perfect  joys  indeed, — 

But  few  are  they  who  think  them  suck." 

Turning  now  to  the  almost  endless  list  of  poets  from 
which  but  a  scanty  selection  can  be  made,  we  may 
begin  with  WANG  Po  (A.D.  648-676),  a  precocious  boy 
who  wrote  verses  when  he  was  six.  He  took  his  degree 
at  sixteen,  and  was  employed  in  the  Historical  Depart- 
ment, but  was  dismissed  for  satirising  the  cock-fighting 
propensities  of  the  Imperial  princes.  He  filled  up  his 
leisure  by  composing  many  beautiful  poems.  He  never 


CH'£N  TzO-ANG  147 

meditated  on  these  beforehand,  but  after  having  pre- 
pared a  quantity  of  ink  ready  for  use,  he  would  drink 
himself  tipsy  and  lie  down  with  his  face  covered  up. 
On  waking  he  would  seize  his  pen  and  write  off  verses, 
not  a  word  in  which  needed  to  be  changed ;  whence 
he  acquired  the  sobriquet  of  Belly-Draft,  meaning  that 
his  drafts,  or  rough  copies,  were  all  prepared  inside. 
And  he  received  so  many  presents  of  valuable  silks  for 
writing  these  odes,  that  it  was  said  "  he  spun  with  his 
mind."  These  lines  are  from  his  pen  : — 

"  Near  these  islands  a  palace 

•was  built  by  a  prince, 
But  its  music  and  song 

have  departed  long  since  ; 
The  hill-mists  of  morning 

sweep  down  on  the  halls, 
At  night  the  red  curtains 

lie  furled  on  the  walls. 
The  clouds  tfer  the  water 

their  shadows  still  cast, 
Things  change  like  the  stars  : 

how  few  autumns  have  passed 
And  yet  where  is  that  prince? 

where  is  he  ? — No  reply, 
Save  the  plash  of  the  stream 

rolling  ceaselessly  by." 

A  still  more  famous  contemporary  of  his  was  CH'^N 
TzC-ANG  (A.D.  656-698),  \vho  adopted  somewhat  sensa- 
tional means  of  bringing  himself  to  the  notice  of  the 
public.  He  purchased  a  very  expensive  guitar  which 
had  been  for  a  long  time  on  sale,  and  then  let  it  be 
known  that  on  the  following  day  he  would  perform 
upon  it  in  public.  This  attracted  a  large  crowd  ;  but 
when  Ch'en  arrived  he  informed  his  auditors  that  he  had 
something  in  his  pocket  worth  much  more  than  the 


148  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

guitar.  Thereupon  he  dashed  the  instrument  into  a 
thousand  pieces,  and  forthwith  began  handing  round 
copies  of  his  own  writings.  Here  is  a  sample,  directed 
against  the  Buddhist  worship  of  idols,  the  "  Prophet" 
representing  any  divinely-inspired  teacher  of  the  Con- 
fucian school : — 

"  On  Self  the  Prophet  never  rests  his  eye. 

His  to  relieve  the  doom  of  humankind; 
No  fairy  palaces  beyond  the  sky, 

Rewards  to  come,  are  present  to  his  mind. 

And  I  have  heard  the  faith  by  Buddha  taught 
Lauded  as  pure  and  free  from  earthly  taint; 

Why  then  these  carved  and  graven  idols,  fraught 
With  gold  and  silver,  gems,  and  jade,  and  paint  ? 

The  heavens  that  roof  this  earth,  mountain  and  dale, 
All  that  is  great  and  grand,  shall  pass  away  ; 

And  if  the  art  of  gods  may  not  prevail, 
Shall  man's  poor  handiwork  escape  decay  f 

Fools  that  ye  are  !    In  this  ignoble  light 
The  true  faith  fades  and  passes  out  of  sight" 

As  an  official,  Ch'en  Tzu-ang  once  gained  great  kudos 
by  a  truly  Solomonic  decision.  A  man,  having  slain  the 
murderer  of  his  father,  was  himself  indicted  for  murder. 
Ch'en  Tzu-ang  caused  him  to  be  put  to  death,  but  at  the 
same  time  conferred  an  honorific  distinction  upon  his 
village  for  having  produced  so  filial  a  son. 

Not  much  is  known  of  SUNG  CHIH-WEN  (d.  A.D.  710), 
at  any  rate  to  his  good.  On  one  occasion  the  Emperor 
was  so  delighted  with  some  of  his  verses  that  he  took  off 
the  Imperial  robe  and  placed  it  on  the  poet's  shoulders. 
This  is  one  of  his  poems  : — 

"  The  dust  of  the  morn 

had  been  laid  by  a  shower^ 
And  the  trees  by  the  bridge 

were  all  covered  withflowert 


M£NG  HAO-JAN  149 

When  a  white  palfrey  passed 

with  a  saddle  of  gold, 
And  a  damsel  as  fair 

as  the  fairest  of  old. 

But  she  veiled  so  discreetly 

her  charms  from  my  eyes 
That  the  boy  who  was  with  her 

quite  felt  for  my  sighs; 
And  although  not  a  light-o'-love 

reckoned,  I  deem, 
It  was  hard  that  this  vision 

should  pass  like  a  aream" 

HAO-JAN  (A.D.  689-740)  gave  no  sign  in  his  youth 
of  the  genius  that  was  latent  within. him.  He  failed  at 
the  public  examinations,  and  retired  to  the  mountains  as 
a  recluse.  He  then  became  a  poet  of  the  first  rank,  and 
his  writings  were  eagerly  sought  after.  At  the  age  of  forty 
he  went  up  to  the  capital,  and  was  one  day  conversing 
with  his  famous  contemporary,  Wang  Wei,  when  sud- 
denly the  Emperor  was  announced.  He  hid  under  a 
couch,  but  Wang  Wei  betrayed  him,  the  result  being  a 
pleasant  interview  with  his  Majesty.  The  following  is  a 
specimen  of  his  verse  : — 

"  The  sun  has  set  behind  the  western  slope, 

The  eastern  moon  lies  mirrored  in  the  pool  j 
With  streaming  hair  my  balcony  I  ope, 

And  stretch  my  limbs  out  to  enjoy  the  cool. 
Loaded  with  lotus-scent  the  breeze  sweeps  by, 

Clear  dripping  drops  from  tall  bamboos  I  hear^ 
I  gaze  upon  my  idle  lute  and  sigh  j 

Alas,  no  sympathetic  soul  is  near . 
And  so  I  doze,  the  while  before  mine  eyes 
Dear  friends  of  other  days  in  dream-clad  forms  arise." 

Equally  famous  as  poet  and  physician  was  WANG  WEI 
(A.D.  699-759).     After  a  short  spell  of  official  life,  he  too 


150  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

retired  into  seclusion  and  occupied  himself  with  poetry 
and  with  the  consolations  of  Buddhism,  in  which  he  was 
a  firm  believer.  His  lines  on  bidding  adieu  to  M£ng 
Hao-jan,  when  the  latter  was  seeking  refuge  on  the 
mountains,  are  as  follows  : — 

"  Dismounted^  rfer  wine 

•we  had  said  our  last  say  j 
Then  I  -whisper ;  '  Dear  friend, 

tell  me,  whither  away  1 ' 
'Alas!'  he  replied, 

'  I  am  sick  of  lifers  ills, 
And  I  long  for  repose 

on  the  slumbering  hills. 
But  oh  seek  not  to  pierce 

where  my  footsteps  may  stray  : 
The  white  clouds  will  soothe  me 

for  ever  and  ay?  " 

The  accompanying  "  stop-short  "  by  the  same  writer 
is  generally  thought  to  contain  an  effective  surprise  in 
the  last  line  : — 

"  Beneath  the  bamboo  grove,  alone, 

I  seize  my  lute  and  sit  and  croon; 
No  ear  to  hear  me,  save  mine  own  : 
No  eye  to  see  me — save  the  moon." 

Wang  Wei  has  been  accused  of  loose  writing  and 
incongruous  pictures.  A  friendly  critic  defends  him  as 
follows  : — "  For  instance,  there  is  Wang  Wei,  who  in- 
troduces bananas  into  a  snow-storm.  When,  however, 
we  come  to  examine  such  points  by  the  light  of  scholar- 
ship, \ve  see  that  his  mind  had  merely  passed  into  sub- 
jective relationship  with  the  things  described.  Fools  say 
he  did  not  know  heat  from  cold." 

A  skilled  poet,  and  a  wine-bibber  and  gambler  to 
boot,  was  Ts'ui  HAO,  who  graduated  about  A.D.  730. 


TS'UI   HAO  151 

He  wrote  a  poem  on  the  Yellow-Crane  pagoda  which 
until  quite  recently  stood  on  the  bank  of  the  Yang-tsze 
near  Hankow,  and  was  put  up  to  mark  the  spot  where 
Wang  Tzu-ch'iao,  who  had  attained  immortality,  went 
up  to  heaven  in  broad  daylight  six  centuries  before  the 
Christian  era.  The  great  Li  Po  once  thought  of  writing 
on  the  theme,  but  he  gave  up  the  idea  so  soon  as  he  had 
read  these  lines  by  Ts'ui  Hao  : — 

"  Here  a  mortal  once  sailed 

up  to  heaven  on  a  cranet 
And  the  Yellow-Crane  Kiosque, 

•will  for  ever  remain  ; 
But  the  bird  flew  away 

and  will  come  back  no  more^ 
Though  the  white  clouds  are  there 

as  the  white  clouds  of  yore. 

Away  to  the  east 

lie  fair  forests  of  trees, 
From  the  flowers  on  the  west 

comes  a  scent-laden  breeze^ 
Yet  my  eyes  daily  turn 

to  their  far-away  home, 
Beyond  the  broad  River, 

its  waves,  and  its  foam? 

By  general  consent  Li  Po  himself  (A.D.  705-762) 
would  probably  be  named  as  China's  greatest  poet. 
His  wild  Bohemian  life,  his  gay  and  dissipated  career  at 
Court,  his  exile,  and  his  tragic  end,  all  combine  to  form 
a  most  effective  setting  for  the  splendid  flow  of  verse 
which  he  never  ceased  to  pour  forth.  At  the  early  age 
of  ten  he  wrote  a  "  stop-short  "  to  a  firefly  : — 

"  Rain  cannot  quench  thy  lantern's  light, 
Wind  makes  it  shine  more  brightly  bright ; 
Oh  why  not  fly  to  heaven  afar, 
And  twinkle  near  the  moon — a  star?" 


152  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

Li  Po  began  by  wandering  about  the  country,  until  at 
length,  with  five  other  tippling  poets,  he  retired  to  the 
mountains.  For  some  time  these  Six  Idlers  of  the 
Bamboo  Grove  drank  and  wrote  verses  to  their  hearts' 
content.  By  and  by  Li  Po  reached  the  capital,  and 
on  the  strength  of  his  poetry  was  introduced  to  the 
Emperor  as  a  "banished  angel."  He  was  received 
with  open  arms,  and  soon  became  the  spoilt  child  of 
the  palace.  On  one  occasion,  when  the  Emperor  sent 
for  him,  he  was  found  lying  drunk  in  the  street ;  and  it 
was  only  after  having  his  face  well  mopped  with  cold 
water  that  he  was  fit  for  the  Imperial  presence.  His 
talents,  however,  did  not  fail  him.  With  a  lady  of  the 
seraglio  to  hold  his  ink-slab,  he  dashed  off  some  of 
his  most  impassioned  lines  ;  at  which  the  Emperor  was 
so  overcome  that  he  made  the  powerful  eunuch  Kao 
Li-shih  go  down  on  his  knees  and  pull  off  the  poet's 
boots.  On  another  occasion,  the  Emperor,  who  was 
enjoying  himself  with  his  favourite  lady  in  the  palace 
grounds,  called  for  Li  Po  to  commemorate  the  scene 
in  verse.  After  some  delay  the  poet  arrived,  sup- 
ported between  two  eunuchs.  "  Please  your  Majesty," 
he  said,  "  I  have  been  drinking  with  the  Prince  and  he 
has  made  me  drunk,  but  I  will  do  my  best."  There- 
upon two  of  the  ladies  of  the  harem  held  up  in  front 
of  him  a  pink  silk  screen,  and  in  a  very  short  time 
he  had  thrown  off  no  less  than  ten  eight-line  stanzas, 
of  which  the  following,  describing  the  life  of  a  palace 
favourite,  is  one  : — 

"  Oh)  the  joy  of  youth  spent 

in  a  gold-fretted  hall, 
In  the  Crape-flower  Pavilion, 
the  fairest  of all \ 


LI  PO  153 

My  tresses  for  head-dress 

with  gay  garlands  girt, 
Carnations  arranged 

o'er  my  jacket  and  skirt  / 
Then  to  wander  away 

in  the  soft-scented  air, 
And  return  by  the  side 

of  his  Majesty's  chair  .  .  . 
But  the  dance  and  the  song 

will  be  o'er  by  and  by> 
And  we  shall  dislimn 

like  the  rack  in  the  sky." 

As  time  went  on,  Li  Po  fell  a  victim  to  intrigue,  and 
left  the  Court  in  disgrace.     It  was  then  that  he  wrote — 

"  My  whitening  hair  would  make  a  long,  long  rope, 
Yet  would  not  fathom  all  my  depth  of  woe." 

After  more  wanderings  and  much  adventure,  he  was 
drowned  on  a  journey,  from  leaning  one  night  too  far 
over  the  edge  of  a  boat  in  a  drunken  effort  to  embrace 
the  reflection  of  the  moon.  Just  previously  he  had 
indited  the  following  lines  : — 

"  An  arbour  of  flowers 

and  a  kettle  of  wine  : 
Alas  !  in  the  bowers 

no  companion  is  mine. 
Then  the  moon  sheds  her  rays 

on  my  goblet  and  me, 
And  my  shadow  betrays 

we're  a  party  of  three. 

"  Though  the  moon  cannot  swallow 

her  share  of  the  grog> 
And  my  shadow  must  follow 

wherever  I  jog, — 
Yet  their  friendship  P II  borrow 

and  gaily  carouse^ 
And  laugh  away  sorrow 

while  spring-time  allows. 


154  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

"  See  the  moon, — how  she  glances 

response  to  my  song; 
'See  my  shadow, — *'/  dances 

so  lightly  along  ! 
While  sober  I  feel 

you  are  both  my  good  friends  j 
When  drunken  I  reel, 

our  companionship  ends. 
But  we'll  soon  have  a  greeting 

without  a  good-bye, 
At  our  next  merry  meeting 

away  in  the  sky" 

His  control  of  the  "stop-short"  is  considered  to  be 
perfect : — 

(i.)  "  The  birds  have  all  flown  to  their  roost  in  the  treet 

The  last  cloud  has  just  floated  lazily  by; 
But  we  never  tire  of  each  other,  not  we, 
As  we  sit  there  together, — the  mountains 

and  /." 
i 
(2.)  "  /  wake,  and  moonbeams  play  around  my  bed, 

Glittering  like  hoar-frost  to  my  wondering  eyes; 
Up  towards  the  glorious  moon  I  raise  my  head. 
Then  lay  me  down, — and  thoughts  of 

home  arise." 

The  following  are  general  extracts  : — 

A  PARTING. 

(i.)  "  The  river  rolls  crystal  as  clear  as  the  sky, 

To  blend  far  away  with  the  blue  waves  of  ocean; 
Man  alone,  when  the  hour  of  departure  is  nigh, 
With  the  wine-cup  can  soothe  his  emotion. 

"  The  birds  of  the  valley  sing  loud  in  the  sun, 
Where  the  gibbons  their  vigils  will  shortly  be  keeping: 
I  thought  that  with  tears  I  had  long  ago  done, 
But  now  I  shall  never  cease  weeping." 


LI  PO  155 

(2.)  "  Homeward  at  dusk  the  clanging  rookery 

•wings  its  eager  flight; 
Then,  chattering  on  the  branches,  all 

are  pairing  for  the  night. 
Plying  her  busy  loom,  a  high-born 

dame  is  sitting  near, 
And  through  the  silken  -window-screen 

their  voices  strike  her  ear. 
She  stops,  and  thinks  of  the  absent  spouse 

she  may  never  see  again; 
And  late  in  the  lonely  hours  of  night 

her  tears  flow  down  like  rain." 

(3.)  "  What  is  life  after  all  but  a  dream  ? 

A  nd  why  should  such  pother  be  made  t 
Better  far  to  be  tipsy,  I  deem, 

And  doze  all  day  long  in  the  shade. 

11  When  I  wake  and  look  out  on  the  lawn, 
I  hear  midst  the  flowers  a  bird  sing; 
I  ask,  '  Is  it  evening  or  dawn  ? ' 

The  mango-bird  whistles,  ' '  Tis  spring.' 

"  Overpowered  with  the  beautiful  sight, 

A  notherfull  goblet  I  pour, 
And  would  sing  till  the  moon  rises  bright—* 
But  soon  Pm  as  drunk  as  bffore" 

(4.)  "  You  ask  what  my  soul  does  away  in  the  sky, 
1  inwardly  smile  but  I  cannot  reply ; 
Like  the  peach-blossoms  carried  away  by  the  strean*, 
I  soar  to  a  world  of  which  you  cannot  dream. " 

One  more  extract  may  be  given,  chiefly  to  exhibit  what 
is  held  by  the  Chinese  to  be  of  the  very  essence  of  real 
poetry, — suggestion.  A  poet  should  not  dot  his  is. 
The  Chinese  reader  likes  to  do  that  for  himself,  each 
according  to  his  own  fancy.  Hence  such  a  poem  as  the 
following,  often  quoted  as  a  model  in  its  own  particular 
line  : — 


156  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

"A  tortoise  I  see 

on  a  lotus-flower  resting: 
A  bird  'mid  the  reeds 

and  the  rushes  is  nesting; 
A  light  skiff  propelled 

by  some  boatman' s  fair  daughter, 
Whose  song  dies  away 

o'er  the  fast-flowing  water." 

Another  poet  of  the  same  epoch,  of  whom  his  country- 
men are  also  justly  proud,  is  Tu  Fu  (A.D.  712-770). 
He  failed  to  distinguish  himself  at  the  public  examina- 
tions, at  which  verse-making  counts  so  much,  but  had 
nevertheless  such  a  high  opinion  of  his  own  poetry 
that  he  prescribed  it  as  a  cure  for  malarial  fever.  He 
finally  obtained  a  post  at  Court,  which  he  was  forced  to 
vacate  in  the  rebellion  of  755.  As  he  himself  wrote  in 
political  allegory — 

"  Full  with  the  freshets  of  the  spring  the  torrent  rushes  on; 
The  ferry-boat  swings  idly ',  for  the  ferry-man  is  gone'1 

After  further  vain  attempts  to  make  an  official  career, 
he  took  to  a  wandering  life,  was  nearly  drowned  by  an 
inundation,  and  was  compelled  to  live  for  ten  days  on 
roots.  Being  rescued,  he  succumbed  next  day  to  the  effects 
of  eating  roast-beef  and  drinking  white  wine  to  excess 
after  so  long  a  fast.  These  are  some  of  his  poems : — 

(i.)  "  The  setting  sun  shines  low  upon  my  door 

Ere  dusk  enwraps  the  river  fringed  with  spring; 
Sweet  perfumes  rise  from  gardens  by  the  shore, 

And  smoke,  where  crews  their  boats  to  anchor  bring. 

"  Now  twittering  birds  are  roosting  in  the  bower, 

And  flying  insects  fill  the  air  around.  .  .  . 
O  wine,  who  gave  to  thee  thy  subtle  power  ? 

A  thousand  cares  in  one  small  goblet  drowned!  " 


TU   FU  157 

(2.)  "  A  petal  falls  ! — the  spring  begins  to  fail, 

And  my  heart  saddens  ivith  the  growing  gale. 
Come  then,  ere  autumn  spoils  bestrew  the  ground^ 
Do  not  forget  to  pass  the  wine-cup  round. 
Kingfishers  build  where  man  once  laughed  elate, 
And  now  stone  dragons  guard  his  graveyard  gate! 
Who  follows  pleasure,  he  alone  is  wise; 
Why  waste  our  life  in  deeds  of  high  emprise  f" 

(3.)  "  My  home  is  girdled  by  a  limpid  stream, 

And  there  in  summer  days  life's  movements  fauset 
Save  where  some  swallow  flits  from  beam  to  beam, 
And  the  wild  sea-gull  near  and  nearer  draws. 

"  The  goodwife  rules  a  paper  board  for  chess  ; 
The  children  beat  a  fish-hook  out  of  wire  ; 
My  ailments  call  for  physic  more  or  less, 

What  else  should  this  poor  frame  of  mine  require?* 

(4.)    "Alone  I  wandered  o'er  the  hills 

to  seek  the  hermifs  den, 
While  sounds  of  chopping  rang  around 

the  fores  fs  leafy  glen. 
I  passed  on  ice  across  the  brook, 

which  had  not  ceased  tofreeze. 
As  the  slanting  rays  of  afternoon 

shot  sparkling  through  the  trees. 

"  I  found  he  did  not  joy  to  gloat 

der  fetid  wealth  by  night, 
But,  far  from  taint,  to  watch  the  deer 

in  the  golden  morning  light.  .  .  . 
My  mind  was  clear  at  coming; 

but  now  I've  lost  my  guide, 
And  rudderless  my  little  bark 

is  drifting  with  the  tide  !  " 

(5.)    "  From  the  Court  every  eve  to  the  pawnshop  I  pass. 

To  come  back  from  the  river  the  drunkest  of  men; 
As  of:en  as  not  I'm  in  debt  for  my  glass  j — 
Well,  few  of  us  live  to  be  threescore  and  ten. 


158  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

The  butterfly  flutters  from  flower  to  flower, 
The  dragon-fly  sips  and  springs  lightly  away, 

Each  creature  is  merry  its  brief  little  hour, 
So  let  us  enjoy  our  short  life  while  we  may? 

Here  is  a  specimen  of  his  skill  with  the  "stop-short," 
based  upon  a  disease  common  to  all  Chinese,  poets  or 
otherwise, — nostalgia  : — 

"  White  gleam  the  gulls  across  the  darkling  tide, 

On  the  green  hills  the  red  flowers  seem  to  burn; 
Alas  !  I  see  another  spring  has  died.  .  .  . 
When  will  it  come — the  day  of  my  return  ?  " 

Of  the  poet  CHANG  CH'IEN  not  much  is  known.  He 
graduated  in  727,  and  entered  upon  an  official  career, 
but  ultimately  betook  himself  to  the  mountains  and  lived 
as  a  hermit.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a  devotee  of 
Taoism.  The  following  poem,  however,  which  deals 
with  dhydna,  or  the  state  of  mental  abstraction  in  which 
all  desire  for  existence  is  shaken  off,  would  make  it  seem 
as  if  his  leanings  had  been  Buddhistic.  It  gives  a  per- 
fect picture,  so  far  as  it  goes,  of  the  Buddhist  retreat 
often  to  be  found  among  mountain  peaks  all  over  China, 
visited  by  pilgrims  who  perform  religious  exercises  or 
fulfil  vows  at  the  feet  of  the  World-Honoured,  and  by 
contemplative  students  eager  to  shake  off  the  "  red  dust " 
of  mundane  affairs  : — 

"  The  clear  dawn  creeps  into  the  convent  old, 
The  rising  sun  tips  its  tall  trees  with  gold, 
As,  darkly,  by  a  winding  path  I  reach 
DhydnJs  hall,  hidden  midst  fir  and  beech. 
Around  these  hills  sweet  birds  their  pleasure  take, 
Man's  heart  as  free  from  shadows  as  this  lake; 
Here  worldly  sounds  are  hushed,  as  by  a  spell, 
Save  for  the  booming  of  the  altar  belly 

There  can  be  little  doubt  of  the  influence  of  Buddhism 


WANG  CHIEN  159 

upon  the   poet  TS'EN  TS'AN,  who  graduated  about  750, 
as  witness  his  lines  on  that  faith : — 

"  A  shrine  whose  eaves  in  far-off  cloudland  hide  : 
I  mount,  and  with  the  sun  stand  side  by  side. 
The  air  is  clear;  I  see  wide  forests  spread 
And  mist-crowned  heights  where  kings  of  old  lie  dead. 
Scarce  o'er  my  threshold  peeps  the  Southern  Hill; 
The  Wei  shrinks  through  my  window  to  a  rill.  .  .  . 
O  thou  Pure  Faith,  had  I  but  known  thy  scope, 
The  Golden  God1  had  long  since  been  my  hope  /" 

WANG  CHIEN  took  the  highest  degree  in  775,  and  rose 
to  be  Governor  of  a  District.  He  managed,  however,  to 
offend  one  of  the  Imperial  clansmen,  in  consequence  of 
which  his  official  career  was  abruptly  cut  short.  He 
wrote  a  good  deal  of  verse,  and  was  on  terms  of  inti- 
macy with  several  of  the  great  contemporary  poets.  In 
the  following  lines,  the  metre  of  which  is  irregular,  he 
alludes  to  the  extraordinary  case  of  a  soldier's  wife  who 
spent  all  her  time  on  a  hill-top  looking  down  the  Yang- 
tsze,  watching  for  her  husband's  return  from  the  wars. 
At  length— 

"  Where  her  husband  she  sought, 

By  the  river's  long  track,  ' 
Into  stone  she  was  wrought, 
And  can  never  come  back ; 

'Mid  the  wind  and  the  rain-storm  for  ever  and  ayt 
She  appeals  to  each  home-comer  passing  tftat  way" 

The  last  line  makes  the  stone  figure,  into  which  the 
unhappy  woman  was  changed,  appear  to  be  asking  of 
every  fresh  arrival  news  of  the  missing  man.  That  is 
the  skill  of  the  artist,  and  is  inseparably  woven  into  the 
original. 

1  Alluding  to  the  huge  gilt  images  of  Buddha  to  be  seen  in  all  temples. 


160  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

Passing  over  many  poets  equally  well  known  with 
some  of  those  already  cited,  we  reach  a  name  undoubt- 
edly the  most  venerated  of  all  those  ever  associated  in 
any  way  with  the  great  mass  of  Chinese  literature.  HAN 
Yu  (A.D.  768-824),  canonised  and  usually  spoken  of  as 
Han  Wen-kung,  was  not  merely  a  poet,  but  a  statesman 
of  the  first  rank,  and  philosopher  to  boot.  He  rose  from 
among  the  humblest  of  the  people  to  the  highest  offices 
of  State.  In  803  he  presented  a  memorial  protesting 
against  certain  extravagant  honours  with  which  the 
Emperor  Hsien  Tsung  proposed  to  receive  a  bone  of 
Buddha.  The  monarch  was  furious,  and  but  for  the 
intercession  of  friends  it  would  have  fared  badly  with 
the  bold  writer.  As  it  was,  he  was  banished  to  Ch'ao- 
chou  Fu  in  Kuangtung,  where  he  set  himself  to  civilise 
the  rude  inhabitants  of  those  wild  parts.  In  a  temple 
at  the  summit  of  the  neighbouring  range  there  is  to 
be  seen  at  this  day  a  huge  picture  of  the  Prince  of 
Literature,  as  he  has  been  called  by  foreigners  from 
his  canonisation,  with  the  following  legend  attached  : — 
"Wherever  he  passed,  he  purified."  He  is  even  said  to 
have  driven  away  a  huge  crocodile  which  was  devasta- 
ting the  watercourses  in  the  neighbourhood ;  and  the 
denunciatory  ultimatum  which  he  addressed  to  the  mon- 
ster and  threw  into  the  river,  together  with  a  pig  and 
a  goat,  is  still  regarded  as  a  model  of  Chinese  com- 
position. It  was  not  very  long  ere  he  was  recalled  to 
the  capital  and  reinstated  in  office;  but  he  had  been 
delicate  all  his  life  and  had  grown  prematurely  old, 
and  was  thus  unable  to  resist  a  severe  illness  which  came 
upon  him.  His  friend  and  contemporary,  Liu  Tsung- 
yiian,  said  that  he  never  ventured  to  open  the  works  of 
Han  Yii  without  first  washing  his  hands  in  rose-water. 


HAN  YtJ  161 

His  writings,  especially  his  essays,  are  often  of  the  very 
highest  order,  leaving  nothing  to  be  desired  either  in 
originality  or  in  style.  But  it  is  more  than  all  for  his 
pure  and  noble  character,  his  calm  and  dignified  patriot- 
ism, that  the  Chinese  still  keep  his  memory  green.  The 
following  lines  were  written  by  Su  Tung-p'o,  nearly  300 
years  after  his  death,  for  a  shrine  which  had  just  been 
put  up  in  honour  of  the  dead  teacher  by  the  people  of 
Ch'ao-chou  Fu  : — 

"  He  rode  on  the  dragon  to  the  white  cloud  domain; 
He  grasped  with  his  hand  the  glory  of  the  sky  ; 
Robed  with  the  effulgence  of  the  stars, 
The  wind  bore  him  delicately  to  the  throne  of  God. 
He  swept  away  the  chaff  and  husks  of  his  generation. 
He  roamed  over  the  limits  of  the  earth. 
He  clothed  all  nature  with  his  bright  rays, 
The  third  in  the  triumvirate  of  genius  ?• 
His  rivals  panted  after  him  in  vain, 
Dazed  by  the  brilliancy  of  the  light. 
He  cursed  Budaha  ;  he  offended  his  prince ; 
He  journeyed  far  away  to  the  distant  south; 

He  passed  the  grave  of  Shun,  and  wept  over  the  daughters  of  Yao. 
The  water-god  went  before  him  and  stilled  the  waves. 
He  drove  out  the  fierce  monster  as  it  were  a  lamb. 
But  above,  in  heaven,  there  was  no  music,  and  God  was  sad, 
And  summoned  him  to  his  place  beside  the  Throne. 
And  now,  with  these  poor  offerings,  I  salute  him; 
With  red  lichees  and  yellow  plantain  fruit. 
Alas  !  that  he  did  not  linger  awhile  on  earth, 
But  passed  so  soon,  with  streaming  hair,  into  the  great  unknown* 

Han  Yii  wrote  a  large  quantity  of  verse,  frequently 
playful,  on  an  immense  variety  of  subjects,  and  under 
his  touch  the  commonplace  was  often  transmuted  into 
wit.  Among  other  pieces  there  is  one  on  his  teeth, 
which  seemed  to  drop  out  at  regular  intervals,  so  that  he 

1  The  other  two  were  Li  Po  and  Tu  Fu. 


162  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

could  calculate  roughly  what  span  of  life  remained  to 
him.  Altogether,  his  poetry  cannot  be  classed  with  that 
of  the  highest  order,  unlike  his  prose  writings,  extracts 
from  which  will  be  given  in  the  next  chapter.  The 
following  poem  is  a  specimen  of  his  lighter  vein  : — 

"  To  stand  upon  the  river-bank 

and  snare  the  purple  fish, 
My  net  well  cast  across  the  stream, 

was  all  that  I  could  wish. 
Or  lie  concealed  and  shoot  the  geese 

that  scream  and  pass  apace, 
And  pay  my  rent  and  taxes  with 

the  profits  of  the  chase. 
Then  home  to  peace  and  happiness, 

with  wife  and  children  gay, 
Though  clothes  be  coarse  and  fare  be  hard, 

and  earned  from  day  to  day. 
But  now  I  read  and  read,  scarce  knowing 

what  'tis  all  about, 
And,  eager  to  improve  my  mind, 

I  wear  my  body  out. 
I  draw  a  snake  and  give  it  legs, 

to  find  Pve  wasted  skill, 
And  my  hair  grows  daily  whiter 

as  I  hurry  towards  the  hill.1 
I  sit  amidthe  sorrows 

I  have  brought  on  my  own  head, 
And  find  myself  estranged  from  all, 

among  the  living  dead. 
I  seek  to  drown  my  consciousness 

in  wine,  alas  !  in  vain  : 
Oblivion  passes  quickly 

and  my  griefs  begin  again. 
Old  age  comes  on,  and  yet  withholds 

the  summons  to  depart.  .  .  . 
So  ril  take  another  bumper 

just  to  ease  my  aching  heart? 

'  Graves  are  placed  by  preference  on  some  hillside. 


HAN  Yt)  163 

Humane  treatment  of  the  lower  animals  is  not  gene- 
rally supposed  to  be  a  characteristic  of  the  Chinese. 
They  have  no  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to 
Animals,  which  may  perhaps  account  for  some  of  their 
shortcomings  in  this  direction.  Han  Yii  was  above  all 
things  of  a  kindly,  humane  nature,  and  although  the 
following  piece  cannot  be  taken  seriously,  it  affords  a 
useful  index  to  his  general  feelings  : — 

"  Oh,  spare  the  busy  morning  fly, 

Spare  the  mosquitos  of  the  night  / 
A  nd  if  their  wicked  trade  they  ply, 
Let  a  partition  stop  their  flight. 

"  Their  span  is  brief  from  birth  to  death  ; 

Like  you,  they  bite  their  little  day; 

And  then,  with  autumn's  earliest  breath^ 

Like  you,  too,  they  are  swept  away." 

The  following  lines  were  written  on  the  way  to  his 
place  of  exile  in  Kuangtung  : — 

"Alas  !  the  early  season  flies, 

Behold  the  remnants  of  the  spring  ! 

My  boat  in  landlocked  water  lies, 
At  dawn  I  hear  the  wild  birds  sing. 

"  Then,  through  clouds  lingering  on  the  slope, 

The  rising  sun  breaks  on  to  me, 
And  thrills  me  with  a  fleeting  hope, — 
A  prisoner  longing  to  be  free. 

"  My  flowing  tears  are  long  since  dried. 

Though  care  clings  closer  than  it  did. 
But  stop  !    All  care  we  lay  aside 
When  once  they  close  the  coffin  lid" 

Another  famous  poet,  worthy  to  be  mentioned  even 
after  Han  Yu,  was  Po  CHU-I  (A.D.  772-846).  As  a  child 


1 64  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

he  was  most  precocious,  knowing  a  considerable  number 
of  the  written  characters  at  the  early  age  of  seven  months, 
after  having  had  each  one  pointed  out  only  once  by  his 
nurse.  He  graduated  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  and  rose 
to  high  office  in  the  State,  though  at  one  period  of  his 
life  he  was  banished  to  a  petty  post,  which  somewhat 
disgusted  him  with  officialdom.  To  console  himself,  he 
built  a  retreat  at  Hsiang-shan,  by  which  name  he  is 
sometimes  called ;  and  there,  together  with  eight  con; 
genial  companions,  he  gave  himself  up  to  poetry  and 
speculations  upon  a  future  life.  To  escape  recognition 
and  annoyance,  all  names  were  dropped,  and  the  party 
was  generally  known  as  the  Nine  Old  Gentlemen  of 
Hsiang-shan.  This  reaching  the  ears  of  the  Emperor, 
he  was  transferred  to  be  Governor  of  Chung-chou  ;  and 
on  the  accession  of  Mu  Tsung  in  821  he  was  sent  as 
Governor  to  Hangchow.  There  he  built  one  of  the  great 
embankments  of  the  beautiful  Western  Lake,  still  known 
as  Po's  Embankment.  He  was  subsequently  Governor 
of  Soochow,  and  finally  rose  in  841  to  be  President  of 
the  Board  of  War.  His  poems  were  collected  by 
Imperial  command  and  engraved  upon  tablets  of  stone, 
which  were  set  up  in  a  garden  he  had  made  for  himself 
in  imitation  of  his  former  beloved  retreat  at  Hsiang- 
shan.  He  disbelieved  in  the  genuineness  of  the  Tao- 
Te-Ching,  and  ridiculed  its  preposterous  claims  as 
rollows  : — 

"  '  Who  know,  speak  not ;  who  speak,  know  naught} 

Are  words  from  Lao  Tztfs  lore. 
What  then  becomes  of  Lao  Tzu's  own 
'  Five  thousand  words  and  more '  ?  " 

Here  is  a  charming  poem  from  his  pen,  which  tells 


PO  CH0-I  165 

the  story  of  a  poor  lute-girl's  sorrows.  This  piece  is 
ranked  very  high  by  the  commentator  Lin  Hsi-chung, 
who  points  out  how  admirably  the  wording  is  adapted  to 
echo  the  sense,  and  declares  that  such  workmanship 
raises  the  reader  to  that  state  of  mental  ecstasy  known 
to  the  Buddhists  as  samddhi,  and  can  only  be  produced 
once  in  a  thousand  autumns.  The  "guest"  is  the 
poet  himself,  setting  out  a  second  time  for  his  place 
of  banishment,  as  mentioned  above,  from  a  point 
about  half-way  thither,  where  he  had  been  struck 
down  by  illness  : — 

"  By  night,  at  the  riverside,  adieus  were  spoken  : 
beneath  the  maple's  flower-like  leaves,  blooming  amid 
autumnal  decay.  Host  had  dismounted  to  speed  the 
parting  guest,  already  on  board  his  boat.  Then  a  stirrup- 
cup  went  round,  but  no  flute,  no  guitar,  was  heard. 
And  so,  ere  the  heart  was  warmed  with  wine,  came 
words  of  cold  farewell  beneath  the  bright  moon,  glitter- 
ing over  the  bosom  of  the  broad  stream  .  .  .  when 
suddenly  across  the  water  a  lute  broke  forth  into  sound. 
Host  forgot  to  go,  guest  lingered  on,  wondering  whence 
the  music,  and  asking  who  the  performer  might  be.  At 
this,  all  was  hushed,  but  no  answer  given.  A  boat 
approached,  and  the  musician  was  invited  to  join  the 
party.  Cups  were  refilled,  lamps  trimmed  again,  and 
preparations  for  festivity  renewed.  At  length,  after 
much  pressing,  she  came  forth,  hiding  her  face  behind 
her  lute  ;  and  twice  or  thrice  sweeping  the  strings, 
betrayed  emotion  ere  her  song  was  sung.  Then  every 
note  she  struck  swelled  with  pathos  deep  and  strong,  as 
though  telling  the  tale  of  a  wrecked  and  hopeless  life, 
while  with  bent  head  and  rapid  finger  she  poured  forth 
her  soul  in  melody.  Now  softly,  now  slowly,  her  plec- 


1 66  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

trum  sped  to  and  fro  ;  now  this  air,  now  that ;  loudly, 
with  the  crash  of  falling  rain  ;  softly,  as  the  murmur  of 
whispered  words  ;  now  loud  and  soft  together,  like  the 
patter  of  pearls  and  pearlets  dropping  upon  a  marble 
dish.  Or  liquid,  like  the  warbling  of  the  mango-bird  in 
the  bush  ;  trickling,  like  the  streamlet  on  its  downward 
course.  And  then,  like  the  torrent,  stilled  by  the  grip  of 
frost,  so  for  a  moment  was  the  music  lulled,  in  a  passion 
too  deep  for  sound.  Then,  as  bursts  the  water  from  the 
broken  vase,  as  clash  the  arms  upon  the  mailed  horse- 
man, so  fell  the  plectrum  once  more  upon  the  strings 
with  a  slash  like  the  rent  of  silk. 

"  Silence  on  all  sides  :  not  a  sound  stirred  the  air. 
The  autumn  moon  shone  silver  athwart  the  tide,  as  with 
a  sigh  the  musician  thrust  her  plectrum  beneath  the 
strings  and  quietly  prepared  to  take  leave.  '  My  child- 
hood,1 said  she,  'was  spent  at  the  capital,  in  my  home 
near  the  hills.  At  thirteen,  I  learnt  the  guitar,  and  my 
name  was  enrolled  among  the  primas  of  the  day. 
The  maestro  himself  acknowledged  my  skill :  the  most 
beauteous  of  women  envied  my  lovely  face.  The  youths 
of  the  neighbourhood  vied  with  each  other  to  do  me 
honour  :  a  single  song  brought  me  I  know  not  how 
many  costly  bales.  Golden  ornaments  and  silver  pins 
were  smashed,  blood-red  skirts  of  silk  were  stained  with 
wine,  in  oft-times  echoing  applause.  And  so  I  laughed 
on  from  year  to  year,  while  the  spring  breeze  and  autumn 
moon  swept  over  my  careless  head. 

"  'Then  my  brother  went  away  to  the  wars :  my  mother 
died.  Nights  passed  and  mornings  came  ;  and  with 
them  my  beauty  began  to  fade.  My  doors  were  no 
longer  thronged ;  but  few  cavaliers  remained.  So  I 
took  a  husband  and  became  a  trader's  wife.  He  was 


PO  CHC-I  167 

all  for  gain,  and  little  recked  of  separation  from  me. 
Last  month  he  went  off  to  buy  tea,  and  I  remained 
behind,  to  wander  in  my  lonely  boat  on  moon-lit 
nights  over  the  cold  wave,  thinking  of  the  happy 
days  gone  by,  my  reddened  eyes  telling  of  tearful 
dreams.' 

"  The  sweet  melody  of  the  lute  had  already  moved  my 
soul  to  pity,  and  now  these  words  pierced  me  to  the 
heart  again.  '  O  lady,'  I  cried,  '  we  are  companions  in 
misfortune,  and  need  no  ceremony  to  be  friends.  Last 
year  I  quitted  the  Imperial  city,  and  fever  -  stricken 
reached  this  spot,  where  in  its  desolation,  from  year's 
end  to  year's  end,  no  flute  or  guitar  is  heard.  I  live  by 
the  marshy  river-bank,  surrounded  by  yellow  reeds  and 
stunted  bamboos.  Day  and  night  no  sounds  reach  my 
ears  save  the  blood-stained  note  of  the  nightjar,  the 
gibbon's  mournful  wail.  Hill  songs  I  have,  and  village 
pipes  with  their  harsh  discordant  twang.  But  now  that  I 
listen  to  thy  lute's  discourse,  methinks  'tis  the  music  of 
the  gods.  Prithee  sit  down  awhile  and  sing  to  us  yet 
again,  while  I  commit  thy  story  to  writing.' 

"  Grateful  to  me  (for  she  had  been  standing  long),  the 
lute-girl  sat  down  and  quickly  broke  forth  into  another 
song,  sad  and  soft,  unlike  the  song  of  just  now.  Then 
all  her  hearers  melted  into  tears  unrestrained  ;  and  none 
flowed  more  freely  than  mine,  until  my  bosom  was  wet 
with  weeping." 

Perhaps  the  best  known  of  all  the  works  of  Po  Chii-i  is 
a  narrative  poem  of  some  length  entitled  "The  Everlast- 
ing Wrong."  It  refers  to  the  ignominious  downfall  of  the 
Emperor  known  as  Ming  Huang  (A.D.  685-762),  who  him- 
self deserves  a  passing  notice.  At  his  accession  to  the 
throne  in  712,  he  was  called  upon  to  face  an  attempt 


168  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

on  the  part  of  his  aunt,  the  T'ai-p'ing  Princess,  to  dis- 
place him;  but  this  he  succeeded  in  crushing,  and  entered 
upon  what  promised  to  be  a  glorious  reign.  He  began 
with  economy,  closing  the  silk  factories  and  forbidding 
the  palace  ladies  to  wear  jewels  or  embroideries,  con- 
siderable quantities  of  which  were  actually  burnt.  Until 
740  the  country  was  fairly  prosperous.  The  administra- 
tion was  improved,  the  empire  was  divided  into  fifteen 
provinces,  and  schools  were  established  in  every  village. 
The  Emperor  was  a  patron  of  literature,  and  himself  a 
poet  of  no  mean  capacity.  He  published  an  edition  of 
the  Classic  of  Filial  Piety,  and  caused  the  text  to  be  en- 
graved on  four  tablets  of  stone,  A.D.  745.  His  love  of 
war,  however,  and  his  growing  extravagance,  led  to  in- 
creased taxation.  Fond  of  music,  he  founded  a  college 
for  training  youth  of  both  sexes  in  this  art.  He  sur- 
rounded himself  by  a  brilliant  Court,  welcoming  such 
men  as  the  poet  Li  Po,  at  first  for  their  talents  alone, 
but  afterwards  for  their  readiness  to  participate  in  scenes 
of  revelry  and  dissipation  provided  for  the  amusement 
of  the  Imperial  concubine,  the  ever-famous  Yang  Kuei- 
fei.  Eunuchs  were  appointed  to  official  posts,  and  the 
grossest  forms  of  religious  superstition  were  encouraged. 
Women  ceased  to  veil  themselves  as  of  old.  Gradually 
the  Emperor  left  off  concerning  himself  with  affairs  of 
State ;  a  serious  rebellion  broke  out,  and  his  Majesty 
sought  safety  in  flight  to  Ssuch'uan,  returning  only  after 
having  abdicated  in  favour  of  his  son.  The  accompany- 
ing poem  describes  the  rise  of  Yang  Kuei-fei,  her  tragic 
fate  at  the  hands  of  the  soldiery,  and  her  subsequent 
communication  with  her  heart-broken  lover  from  the 
world  of  shadows  beyond  the  grave  : — 


PO  CHO-I  169 

ENNUI. — His  Imperial  Majesty,  a  slave  to  beauty, 

longed  for  a  "  subverter  of  empires  ;  "  * 
For  years  he  had  sought  in  vain 

to  secure  such  a  treasure  for  his  palace.  .  .  • 

BEAUTY. — From  the  Yang  family  came  a  maiden, 

just  grown  up  to  womanhood, 
Reared  in  the  inner  apartments, 

altogether  unknown  to  fame. 
But  nature  had  amply  endowed  her 

with  a  beauty  hard  to  conceal, 
And  one  day  she  was  summoned 

to  a  place  at  the  monarcKs  side. 
Her  sparkling  eye  and  merry  laughter 

fascinated  every  beholder, 
And  among  the  powder  and  paint  of  the  harem 

her  loveliness  reigned  supreme. 
In  the  chills  of  spring,  by  Imperial  mandate, 

she  bathed  in  the  Hua-ching  Pool, 
Laving  her  body  in  the  glassy  wavelets 

of  the  fountain  perennially  warm. 
Then,  when  she  came  forth,  helped  by  attendants, 

her  delicate  and  graceful  movements 
Finally  gained  for  her  gracious  favour, 

captivating  his  Majesty's  heart. 

REVELRY. — Hair  like  a  cloud,  face  like  a  flower, 

headdress  which  quivered  as  she  walked^ 
Amid  the  delights  of  the  Hibiscus  Pavilion 

she  passed  the  soft  spring  nights. 
Spring  nights,  too  short  alas  !  for  them, 

albeit  prolonged  till  dawn, — 
From  this  time  forth  no  more  audiences 

in  the  hours  of  early  morn. 
Revels  and  feasts  in  quick  succession, 

ever  without  a  break, 
She  chosen  always  for  the  spring  excursion, 

chosen  for  the  nightly  carouse. 

1  Referring  to  a  famous  beauty  of  the  Han  dynasty,  one  glance  from  whom 
would  overthrow  a  city,  two  glances  an  empire. 


170  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

Three  thousand  peerless  beauties  adorned 

the  apartments  of  the  monarch's  harem, 
Yet  always  his  Majesty  reserved 

his  attentions  for  her  alone. 
Passing  her  life  in  a  "golden  house" l 

•with  fair  girls  to  wait  on  her, 
She  was  daily  wafted  to  ecstasy 

on  the  wine  fumes  of  the  banquet-hall. 
Her  sisters  and  her  brothers,  one  and  all, 

were  raised  to  the  rank  of  nobles. 
Alas  !  for  the  ill-omened  glories 

which  she  conferred  on  her  family. 
For  thus  it  came  about  that  fathers  and  mothers 

through  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  empire 
Rejoiced  no  longer  over  the  birth  of  sons, 

but  over  the  birth  of  daughters. 
In  the  gorgeous  palace 

piercing  the  grey  clouds  above, 
Divine  music,  borne  on  the  breeze, 

is  spread  around  on  all  sides ; 
Of  song  and  the  dance 

to  the  guitar  and  flute, 
All  through  the  live  long  day, 

his  Majesty  never  tires. 
But  suddenly  comes  the  roll 

of  the  fish-skin  war-drums, 
Breaking  rudely  upon  the  air 

of  the  "  Rainbow  Skirt  and  Feather  Jacket 

FLIGHT. — Clouds  of  dust  envelop 

the  lofty  gates  of  the  capital. 
A  thousand  war-chariots  and  ten  thousand  horses 

move  towards  the  south-west. 
Feathers  and  jewels  among  the  throng, 

onwards  and  then  a  halt. 
A  hundred  \\  beyond  the  western  gate, 

leaving  behind  them  the  city  walls, 

1  Referring  to  A-chiao,  one  of  the  consorts  of  an  Emperor  of  the  Han 
dynasty.  "Ah,"  said  the  latter  when  a  boy,  "if  I  could  only  get  A-chiao,  I 
would  hare  a  golden  house  to  keep  her  in." 


PO  CHU-I 

The  soldiers  refuse  to  advance; 

nothing  remains  to  be  done 
Until  she  of  the  moth-eyebrows 

perishes  in  sight  of  all. 
On  the  ground  lie  gold  ornaments 

with  no  one  to  pick  them  up, 
Kingfisher  wings,  golden  birds, 

and  hairpins  of  costly  jade. 
The  monarch  covers  his  face, 

powerless  to  save; 
And  as  he  turns  to  look  back, 

tears  and  blood  flow  mingled  together. 

EXILE. — Across  vast  stretches  of  yellow  sand 

with  whistling  winds, 
Across  cloud-capped  mountain-tops 

they  make  their  way. 
Few  indeed  are  the  travellers 

who  reach  the  heights  of  Mount  Omi; 
The  bright  gleam  of  the  standards 

grows  fainter  day  by  day. 
Dark  the  Ssiich  uan  waters, 

dark  the  Ssuch'uan  hills  j 
Daily  and  nightly  his  Majesty 

is  consumed  by  bitter  grief. 
Travelling  along,  the  very  brightness 

of  the  moon  saddens  his  heart, 
And  the  sound  of  a  bell  through  the  evening  rain 

severs  his  viscera  in  twain. 

RETURN. —  Time  passes,  days  goby,  and  once  again 

he  is  there  at  the  well-known  sflot, 
And  there  he  lingers  on,  unable 

to  tear  himself  wholly  away. 
But  from  the  clods  of  earth 

at  the  foot  of  the  Ma-wei  hill, 
No  sign  of  her  lovely  face  appears, 

only  the  place  of  death. 
The  eyes  of  sovereign  and  minister  meet, 

and  robes  are  wet  with  tearst 
Eastward  they  depart  and  hurry  on 

to  the  capital  at  full  speed. 


172  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

HOME. — There  is  the  pool  and  there  are  the  flowers, 

as  of  old. 
There  is  the  hibiscus  of  the  pavilion, 

there  are  the  willows  of  the  palace. 
In  the  hibiscus  he  sees  her  face, 

in  the  willow  he  sees  her  eyebrows  : 
How  in  the  presence  of  these 

should  tears  not  flow \ — 
In  spring  amid  the  flowers 

of  the  peach  and  plum, 
In  autumn  rains  when  the  leaves 

of  the  wu  t'ungyiz//? 
To  the  south  of  the  western  palace 

are  many  trees, 
And  when  their  leaves  cover  the  steps, 

no  one  now  sweeps  them  away. 
The  hair  of  the  Pear-Garden  musicians 

is  white  as  though  with  age; 
The  guardians  of  the  Pepper  Chamber* 

seem  to  him  no  longer  young. 
Where  fireflies  flit  through  the  hall, 

he  sits  in  silent  grief  ; 
Alone,  the  lamp-wick  burnt  out, 

he  is  still  unable  to  sleep. 
Slowly  pass  the  watches, 

for  the  nights  are  now  too  long, 
And  brightly  shine  the  constellations, 

as  though  dawn  would  never  come. 
Cold  settles  upon  the  duck-and- drake  tiles? 

and  thick  hoar-frost, 
The  kingfisher  coverlet  is  chill, 

with  none  to  share  its  warmth. 
Parted  by  life  and  death, 

time  still  goes  on, 
But  never  once  does  her  spirit  come  back 

to  visit  him  in  dreams. 


1  A  fancy  name  for  the  women's  apartments  in  the  palace. 
1  The  mandarin  duck  and  drake  are  emblems  of  conjugal  fidelity.     The 
allusion  is  to  ornaments  on  the  roof. 


PO  CHtJ-I  173 

SPIRIT-LAND.— A  Taoist  priest  of  Lin-cKung, 

of  the  Hung-tu  school. 
Was  able,  by  his  perfect  art,  to  summon 

the  spirits  of  the  dead. 
Anxious  to  relieve  the  fretting  mind 

of  his  sovereign, 
This  magician  receives  orders 

to  urge  a  diligent  quest. 
Borne  on  the  clouds,  charioted  upon  ether, 

he  rushes  with  the  speed  of  lightning 
High  up  to  heaven,  low  down  to  earth, 

seeking  everywhere. 
Above,  he  searches  the  empyrean; 

below,  the  Yellow  Springs, 
But  nowhere  in  these  vast  areas 

can  her  place  be  found. 
At  length  he  hears  of  an  Isle  of  the  Blest 

away  in  mid-ocean, 
Lying  in  realms  of  vacuity, 

dimly  to  be  descried. 
There  gaily  decorated  buildings 

rise  up  like  rainbow  clouds, 
And  there  many  gentle  and  beautiful  Immortals 

pass  their  days  in  peace. 
Among  them  is  one  whose  name 

sounds  upon  lips  as  Eternal, 
And  by  her  snow-white  skin  and  flower-like  face 

he  hnows  that  this  is  she. 
Knocking  at  the  jade  door 

at  the  western  gate  of  the  golden  palace, 
He  bids  a  fair  waiting-maid  announce  him 

to  her  mistress,  fairer  still. 
She,  hearing  of  this  embassy 

sent  by  the  Son  of  Heaven, 
Starts  up  from  her  dreams 

among  the  tapestry  curtains. 
Grasping  her  clothes  and  pushing  away  the  pillow, 

she  arises  in  haste, 
And  begins  to  adorn  herself 

with  pearls  and  jewels. 


174  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

Her  cloud-like  coiffure,  dishevelled, 

shows  that  she  has  just  risen  from  sleep, 
And  with  her  flowery  head-dress  awry, 

she  passes  into  the  hall. 
The  sleeves  of  her  immortal  robes 

are  filled  out  by  the  breeze, 
As  once  more  she  seems  to  dance 

to  the  "  Rainbow  Skirt  and  Feather  Jacket* 
Her  features  are  fixed  and  calm, 

though  myriad  tears  fall, 
Wetting  a  spray  of  pear-bloom, 

as  it  were  with  the  raindrops  of  spring. 
Subduing  her  emotions,  restraining  her  grief , 

she  tenders  thanks  to  his  Majesty, 
Saying  how  since  they  parted 

she  has  missed  his  form  and  voice; 
And  how,  although  their  love  on  earth 

has  so  soon  come  to  an  end, 
The  days  and  months  among  the  Blest 

are  still  of  long  duration, 
And  now  she  turns  and  gazes 

towards  the  abode  ofmortalst 
But  cannot  discern  the  Imperial  city 

lost  in  the  dust  and  haze. 
Then  she  takes  out  ihe  old  keepsakes, 

tokens  of  undying  love, 
A  gold  hairpin,  an  enamel  brooch, 

and  bids  the  magician  carry  these  back. 
One  half  of  the  hairpin  she  keeps, 

and  one  half  of  the  enamel  brooch, 
Breaking  with  her  hands  the  yellow  gold, 

and  dividing  the  enamel  in  two. 
"  Tell  him?  she  said,  "to  be  firm  of  heart, 

as  this  gold  and  enamel, 
And  then  in  heaven  or  on  earth  below 

we  two  may  meet  once  more." 
At  parting,  she  confided  to  the  magician 

many  earnest  messages  of  love% 
Among  the  rest  recalling  a  pledge 

mutually  understood; 


LI  HO  175 

How  on  the  seventh  day  of  the  seventh  moon% 

in  the  Hall  of 'Immortality ', 
At  midnight,  when  none  -were  near, 

he  had  whispered  in  her  ear% 
u  I  swear  that  we  will  ever  fly 

like  the  one-winged  birds  f 
Or  grow  united  like  the  tree 

with  branches  which  twine  together" * 
Heaven  and  Earth,  long-lasting  as  they  are, 

will  some  day  pass  away; 
But  this  great  wrong  shall  stretch  out  for  evert 

endless,  for  ever  and  ay. 

A  precocious  and  short-lived  poet  was  Li  Ho,  of  the 
ninth  century.  He  began  to  write  verses  at  the  age 
of  seven.  Twenty  years  later  he  met  a  strange  man 
riding  on  a  hornless  dragon,  who  said  to  him,  "  God 
Almighty  has  finished  his  Jade  Pavilion,  and  has  sent 
for  you  to  be  his  secretary."  Shortly  after  this  he  died. 
The  following  is  a  specimen  of  his  poetry  : — 

"  With  flowers  on  the  ground  like  embroidery  spread, 
At  twenty,  the  soft  glow  of  wine  in  my  head, 
My  white  courser's  bit-tassels  motionless  gleam 
While  the  gold-threaded  willow  scent  sweeps  der  the  stream. 
Yet  until  she  has  smiled,  all  these  flowers  yield  no  ray  ; 
When  her  tresses  fall  down  the  whole  landscape  is  gay ; 
My  hand  on  her  sleeve  as  I  gaze  in  her  eyes, 
A  kingfisher  hairpin  will  soon  be  my  prize" 

CHANG  CHI,  who  also  flourished  in  the  ninth  century, 
was  eighty  years  old  when  he  died.  He  was  on  terms 
of  close  friendship  with  Han  Yii,  and  like  him,  too,  a 
vigorous  opponent  of  both  Buddhism  and  Taoism.  The 
following  is  his  most  famous  poem,  the  beauty  of  which, 
says  a  commentator,  lies  beyond  the  words : — 

1  Each  bird  having  only  one  wing,  must  always  fly  with  a  mate. 
1  Such  a  tree  was  believed  to  exist,  and   has  often  been  figured  by  the 
Chinese. 


CHINESE  LITERATURE 

"  Knowing,  fair  sir,  my  matrimonial  thrall^ 
Two  pearls  thou  sentest  me,  costly  withal. 
And  I,  seeing  that  Love  thy  heart  possessed, 
I  wrapped  them  coldly  in  my  silken  vest. 

"For  mine  is  a  household  of  high  degree, 
My  husband  captain  in  the  King's  army; 
And  one  with  wit  like  thine  should  say, 
1  The  troth  of  wives  is  for  ever  and  ay} 

"  With  thy  two  pearls  I  send  thee  back  two  tears  : 
Tears — that  we  did  not  meet  in  earlier  years? 

Many  more  poets  of  varying  shades  of  excellence 
must  here  be  set  aside,  their  efforts  often  brightened  by 
those  quaint  conceits  which  are  so  dear  to  the  Chinese 
reader,  but  which  approach  so  perilously  near  to  bathos 
when  they  appear  in  foreign  garb.  A  few  specimens, 
torn  from  their  setting,  may  perhaps  have  an  interest  of 
their  own.  Here  is  a  lady  complaining  of  the  leaden- 
footed  flight  of  time  as  marked  by  the  water-clock : — 

"  //  seems  that  the  clepsydra 

has  been  filled  up  with  the  sea, 
To  make  the  long,  long  night  appear 
an  endless  night  to  me  /  " 

The  second  line  in  the  next  example  is  peculiarly 
characteristic : — 

"  Dusk  comes,  the  east  wind  blows,  and  birds 

pipe  forth  a  mournful  sound; 
Petals,  like  nymphs  from  balconies, 
come  tumbling  to  the  ground? 

The  next  refers  to  candles  burning  in  a  room  wnere 
two  friends  are  having  a  last  talk  on  the  night  before 
parting  for  a  long  period : — 

"  The  very  wax  sheds  sympathetic  tears, 
And  gutters  sadly  down  till  dawn  appears? 


LI  SHfi  177 

This  last  is  from  a  friend  to  a  friend  at  a  distance : — 

"  Ah,  when  shall  we  ever  snuff  candles  again, 
And  recall  the  glad  hours  of  that  evening  of  rain  t "  > 

A  popular  poet  of  the  ninth  century  was  Li  SH£, 
especially  well  known  for  the  story  of  his  capture  by 
highwaymen.  The  chief  knew  him  by  name  and  called 
for  a  sample  of  his  art,  eliciting  the  following  lines,  which 
immediately  secured  his  release : — 

nThe  rainy  mist  sweeps  gently 

der  the  village  by  the  stream. 
When  from  the  leafy  forest  glades 

the  brigand  daggers  gleam.  .  .  . 
And  yet  there  is  no  need  to  fear, 

nor  step  from  out  their  way, 
For  more  than  half  the  world  consists 

of  bigger  rogues  than  they  /  " 

A  popular  physician  in  great  request,  as  well  as  a  poet, 
was  MA  Tztf-JAN  (d.  A.D.  880).  He  studied  Taoism  in 
a  hostile  sense,  as  would  appear  from  the  following  poem 
by  him  ;  nevertheless,  according  to  tradition,  he  was 
ultimately  taken  up  to  heaven  alive  : — 

"  In  youth  I  went  to  study  TAO 

at  its  living  fountain-head, 
And  then  lay  tipsy  half  the  day 

upon  a  gilded  bed. 
'  What  oaf  is  this,'  the  Master  cried, 

'content  -with  human  lot?' 
And  bade  me  to  the  world  get  back 

and  call  myself  a  sot. 
But  wherefore  seek  immortal  life 

by  means  of  wondrous  pills  f 
Noise  is  not  in  the  market-place, 

nor  quiet  on  the  hills. 


1 78  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

The  secret  of  perpetual  youth 

is  already  known  to  me  : 
Accept  with  philosophic  calm 

whatever  fate  may  be" 

Hsu  AN-CH£N,  of  the  ninth  century,  is  entitled  to  a 
place  among  the  Tang  poets,  if  only  for  the  following 
piece : — 

"  When  the  Bear  athwart  was  lying. 
And  the  night  was  just  on  dying, 
And  the  moon  was  all  but  gone, 
How  my  thoughts  did  ramble  on  / 

"  Then  a  sound  of  music  breaks 
From  a  lute  that  some  one  wakes, 
And  I  know  that  it  is  she,  ( 

The  sweet  maid  next  door  to  me. 

"  And  as  the  strains  steal  o'er  me 
Her  moth-eyebrows  rise  before  me, 
And  I  feel  a  gentle  thrill 
That  her  fingers  must  be  chill. 

"  But  doors  and  locks  between  us 
So  effectually  screen  us 
That  I  hasten  from  the  street 
And  in  dreamland  pray  to  meet." 

The  following  lines  by  Tu  CH'IN-NIANG,  a  poetess  of 
the  ninth  century,  are  included  in  a  collection  of  300 
gems  of  the  T'ang  dynasty  : — 

"  /  would  not  have  thee  grudge  those  robes 

which  gleam  in  rich  array, 
But  I  would  have  thee  grudge  the  hours 

of  youth  which  glide  away. 
Go,  pluck  the  blooming  flower  betimes, 

lest  when  thou  com!st  again 
Alas !  upon  the  withered  stem 

no  blooming Jlowers  remain  !  * 


SSO-K'UNG  T'U  179 

It  is  time  perhaps  to  bring  to  a  close  the  long  list, 
which  might  be  almost  indefinitely  lengthened.  SsO- 
K'UNG  Tu  (A.D.  834-908)  was  a  secretary  in  the  Board  of 
Rites,  but  he  threw  up  his  post  and  became  a  hermit.  Re- 
turning to  Court  in  905,  he  accidentally  dropped  part 
of  his  official  insignia  at  an  audience, — an  unpardonable 
breach  of  Court  etiquette, — and  was  allowed  to  retire 
once  more  to  the  hills,  where  he  ultimately  starved  him- 
self to  death  through  grief  at  the  murder  of  the  youthful 
Emperor.  He  is  commonly  known  as  the  Last  of  the 
Tangs;  his  poetry,  which  is  excessively  difficult  to  under- 
stand, ranking  correspondingly  high  in  the  estimation  of 
Chinese  critics.  The  following  philosophical  poem,  con- 
sisting of  twenty-four  apparently  unconnected  stanzas, 
is  admirably  adapted  to  exhibit  the  form  under  which 
pure  Taoism  commends  itself  to  the  mind  of  a  cultivated 
scholar: — 

i. — ENERGY — ABSOLUTE. 

"  Expenditure  of  force  leads  to  outward  decay^ 
Spiritual  existence  means  inward  fulness. 
Let  its  revert  to  Nothing  and  enter  the  Absolute^ 
Hoarding  up  strength  for  Energy. 
Freighted  with  eternal principles , 
Athwart  the  mighty  void, 
Where  cloud-masses  darken, 
And  the  wind  blows  ceaseless  around, 
Beyond  the  range  of  conceptions, 
Let  us  gain  the  Centre, 
And  there  holdfast  without  violence^ 
Fed  from  an  inexhaustible  supply." 

ii.— TRANQUIL  REPOSE. 

M  //  dwells  in  quietude,  speechless, 
Imperceptible  in  the  cosmos, 
Watered  by  the  eternal  harmonies^ 
Soaring  with  the  lonely  crane. 


i8o  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

//  is  like  a  gentle  breeze  in  spring, 

Softly  bellying  the  flowing  robej 

It  is  like  the  note  of  the  bamboo  flute, 

Whose  sweetness  we  would  fain  make  our  own. 

Meeting  by  chance,  it  seems  easy  of  access, 

Seeking,  we  find  it  hard  to  secure. 

Ever  shifting  in  semblance, 

It  shifts  from  the  grasp  and  is  gone? 

iiL — SLIM— STOUT. 

a  Gathering  the  water-plants 
From  the  wild  luxuriance  of  spring, 
Away  in  the  depth  of  a  wild  valley 
Anon  I  see  a  lovely  girl. 
With  green  leaves  the  peach-trees  are  loaded^ 
The  breeze  blows  gently  along  the  stream, 
Willows  shade  the  winding  path, 
Darting  orioles  collect  in  groups. 
Eagerly  I  press  forward 
As  the  reality  grows  upon  me.  .  ,  . 
'Tis  the  eternal  theme 
Which,  though  old,  is  ever  new" 

iv.— CONCENTRATION. 

**  Green  pines  and  a  rustic  hut, 
The  sun  sinking  through  pure  air, 
I  take  off  my  cap  and  stroll  alone, 
Listening  to  the  song  of  birds. 
No  wild  geese  fly  hither, 
And  she  is  far  away ; 
But  my  thoughts  make  her  present 
As  in  the  days  gone  by. 
Across  the  water  dark  clouds  are  whirled, 
Beneath  the  moonbeams  the  eyots  stand  revealed^ 
And  sweet  words  are  exchanged 
Though  the  great  River  rolls  between." 

v. — HEIGHT — ANTIQUITY. 

**  Lo  the  Immortal,  borne  by  spirituality, 
His  hand  grasping  a  lotus  flower, 


SSO-K'UNG  T'U  181 

Away  to  Time  everlasting, 

Trackless  through  the  regions  of  Space  f 

With  the  moon  he  issues  from  the  Ladle} 

Speeding  upon  a  favourable  gale; 

Below,  Mount  Hua  looms  dark. 

And  from  it  sounds  a  clear-toned  bell. 

Vacantly  I  gaze  after  his  vanished  image, 

Now  passed  beyond  the  bounds  of  mortality.  .  .  . 

Ah,  the  Yellow  Emperor  and  Yao, 

They,  peerless,  are  his  models." 

vi. — REFINEMENT. 

M  A  jade  kettle  with  a  purchase  of  spring? 
A  shower  on  the  thatched  hut 
Wherein  sits  a  gentle  scholar. 
With  tall  bamboos  growing  right  and  left, 
And  white  clouds  in  the  newly-clear  sky, 
And  birds  flitting  in  the  depths  of  trees. 
Then  pillowed  on  his  lute  in  the  green  shade, 
A  waterfall  tumbling  overhead, 
Leaves  dropping,  not  a  word  spoken, 
The  man  placid,  like  a  chrysanthemum, 
Noting  down  the  flower-glory  of  the  season, — 
A  book  well  worthy  to  be  read." 

vii. — WASH— SMELT. 
"As  iron  from  the  mines, 
As  silver  from  lead, 
So  purify  thy  heart, 
Loving  the  limpid  and  clean. 
Like  a  clear  pool  in  spring, 
With  its  wondrous  mirrored  shapes, 
So  make  for  the  spotless  and  true, 
A  nd,  riding  the  moonbeam,  revert  to  the  Spiritual. 
Let  your  gaze  be  upon  the  stars  of  heaven? 
Let  your  song  be  of  the  hiding  hermit  j  3 
Like  flowing  water  is  our  to-day, 
Our  yesterday,  the  bright  moon."  * 

1  The  Great  Bear.  a  Wine  which  makes  man  see  spring  at  all  seasons. 

*  Emblems  of  purity. 

4  Our  previous  state  of  existence  at  the  eternal  Centre  to  which  the  moon 
belongs. 


1 82  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

viii.— STRENGTH. 
"  The  mind  as  though  in  the  void, 
The  vitality  as  though  of  the  rainbow, 
Among  the  thousand-ell  peaks  of  Wu, 
Flying  with  the  clouds,  racing  -with  the  ivindj 
Drink  of  the  spiritual,  feed  on  force, 
Store  them  for  daily  use,  guard  them  in  your  heart f 
Be  like  Him  in  His  might^ 
For  this  is  to  preserve  your  energy ; 
Be  a  peer  of  Heaven  and  Earth, 
A  co-worker  in  Divine  transformation,  ,  .  . 
Seek  to  be  full  of  these, 
And  hold  fast  to  them  alway." 

ix.— EMBROIDERIES. 
M  If  the  mind  has  wealth  and  rank, 
One  may  make  light  of  yellow  gold. 
Rich  pleasures  pall  ere  long, 
Simple  joys  deepen  ever. 
A  mist-cloud  hanging  on  the  river  bank, 
Pink  almond-flowers  along  the  bough, 
A  flower-girt  cottage  beneath  the  moon, 
A  painted  bridge  half  seen  in  shadow, 
A  golden  goblet  brimming  with  wine, 
A  friend  with  his  hand  on  the  lute.  .  .  . 
Take  these  and  be  content; 
They  will  swell  thy  heart  beneath  thy  robe? 

x.— THE  NATURAL. 

M  Stoop,  and  there  it  is; 
Seek  it  not  right  and  left. 
All  roads  lead  thither, — 
One  touch  and  you  have  spring  !  * 
As  though  coming  upon  opening  flowers^ 
As  though  gazing  upon  the  new  year, 
Verily  I  will  not  snatch  it, 
Forced,  it  will  dwindle  away. 

1  The  Power  who,  without  loss  of  force,  causes  things  to  be  what  they  are- 
God. 
9  Alluding  to  the  art  of  the  painter. 


SSO-K'UNG  TU  183 

/  will  be  like  the  hermit  on  the  hill, 

Like  duckweed  gathered  on  the  stream? 

And  when  emotions  crowd  upon  me, 

I  will  leave  them  to  the  harmonies  of  heaven? 

xi.— SET  FREE. 

"Joying  in  flowers  without  lett 
Breathing  the  empyrean, 
Through  TAO  reverting  to  ether., 
And  there  to  be  wildly  free, 
Wide-spreading  as  the  wind  of  heaven^ 
Lofty  as  the  peaks  of  ocean, 
Filled  with  a  spiritual  strength, 
All  creation  by  my  side, 
Before  me  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars, 
The  phoenix  following  behind, 
In  the  morning  I  whip  up  my  leviathans 
And  wash  my  feet  in  Fusang."  * 

xii. — CONSERVATION. 

44  Without  a  word  writ  down, 
All  wit  may  be  attained. 
If  words  do  not  affect  the  speaker, 
They  seem  inadequate  to  sorrow? 
Herein  is  the  First  Cause, 
With  which  we  sink  or  rise, 
As  wine  in  the  strainer  mounts  high, 
As  cold  turns  back  the  season  of  flowers. 
The  wide-spreading  dust-motes  in  the  air, 
The  sudden  spray-bubbles  of  ocean, 
Shallow,  deep,  collected,  scattered, — 
You  grasp  ten  thousand,  and  secure  one!* 

xiii. — ANIMAL  SPIRITS. 

M  That  they  might  come  back  unceasingly^ 
That  they  might  be  ever  with  us/ — 

1  A  creature  of  chance,  following  the  doctrine  of  Inaction. 
1  Variously  identified  with  Saghalien,  Mexico,  and  Japan. 

*  ...  Si  vis  me  flere  dolendum  est 
Primum  ipsi  tibi.  .  .  . 


1 84  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

The  bright  river,  unfathomable. 

The  rare  flower  just  opening, 

The  parrot  of  the  -verdant  spring, 

The  willow-trees,  the  terrace, 

The  stranger  from  the  dark  hills, 

The  cup  overflowing  with  clear  wine.  .  .  • 

Oh,  for  life  to  be  extended, 

With  no  dead  ashes  of  writing, 

Amid  the  charms  of  the  Natural, — 

Ah,  who  can  compass  iff" 

xiv.— CLOSE  WOVEN. 

"  In  all  things  there  are  veritable  atomst 
Though  the  senses  cannot  perceive  them, 
Struggling  to  emerge  into  shape 
From  the  wondrous  workmanship  of  God. 
W ater flowing,  flowers  budding, 
The  limpid  dew  evaporating, 
An  important  road,  stretching  far, 
A  dark  path  where  progress  is  slow.  •  .  • 
So  words  should  not  shock, 
Nor  thought  be  inept, 
But  be  like  the  green  of  spring^ 
Like  snow  beneath  the  moon" * 

xv.— SECLUSION 

"  Following  our  own  bent, 
Enjoying  the  Natural,  free  from  curb% 
Rich  with  what  comes  to  hand, 
Hoping  some  day  to  be  with  God. 
To  build  a  hut  beneath  the  pines, 
With  uncovered  head  to  pore  over  poetry^ 
Knowing  only  morning  and  eve, 
But  not  what  season  it  may  be.  .  .  . 
Then,  if  happiness  is  ours, 
Why  must  there  be  action  ? 
If  of  our  own  selves  we  can  reach  this  point% 
Can  we  not  be  said  to  have  attained  ?" 

1  Each  invisible  atom  of  which  combines  to  produce  a  perfect  whole. 


SSO-R*UNG  T'U  185 

xvi.— FASCINATION. 

* Lovely  is  the  pine-grove, 
With  the  stream  eddying  below, 
A  clear  sky  and  a  snow-clad  bank, 
Fishing-boats  in  the  reach  beyond. 
And  she,  like  unto  jade, 

Slowly  sauntering,  as  I  follow  through  the  dark  wood, 
Now  moving  on,  now  stopping  short, 
Far  away  to  the  deep  valley.  .  .  . 
My  mind  quits  its  tenement,  and  is  in  the  pas t^ 
Vague,  and  not  to  be  recalled, 
As  though  before  the  glow  of  the  rising  moon, 
As  though  before  the  glory  of  autumn" 

xvii.— IN  TORTUOUS  WAYS. 

"  /  climbed  the  T'ai-hsing  mountain 
By  the  green  winding  path, 
Vegetation  like  a  sea  of  jade, 
Flower-scent  borne  far  and  wide. 
Struggling  with  effort  to  advance, 
A  sound  escaped  my  lips, 
Which  seemed  to  be  back  ere  ''twas  gone^ 
As  though  hidden  but  not  concealed^ 
The  eddying  waters  rush  to  and  fro, 
Overhead  the  great  rukh  soars  and  sails; 
TAO  does  not  limit  itself  to  a  shape, 
But  is  round  and  square  by  turns" 

xviii.— ACTUALITIES. 

"  Choosing  plain  words 
To  ex-press  simple  thoughts, 
Suddenly  I  happened  upon  a  recluse, 
And  seemed  to  see  the  heart  0/TAO. 
Beside  the  winding  brook, 
Beneath  dark  pine-tree?  shade, 
There  was  one  stranger  bearing  a  faggot^ 
Another  listening  to  the  lute. 

1  Referring  to  an  echo. 


1 86  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

And  so,  where  my  fancy  led  met 
Better  than  if  I  had  sought  it, 
I  heard  the  music  of  'heaven, 
Astounded  by  its  rare  strains? 

xix. — DESPONDENT. 

"  A  gale  ruffles  the  stream 
And  trees  in  the  forest  crack; 
My  thoughts  are  bitter  as  death, 
For  she  whom  I  asked  will  not  come. 
A  hundred  years  slip  by  like  water, 
Riches  and  rank  are  but  cold  ashes, 
TAG  is  daily  passing  away, 
To  whom  shall  we  turn  for  salvation  ? 
The  brave  soldier  draws  his  sword, 
And  tears  flow  with  endless  lamentation; 
The  wind  whistles,  leaves  fall, 
And  rain  trickles  through  the  old  thatch" 

xx.— FORM  AND  FEATURE. 

"  After  gazing  fixedly  upon  expression  and  substance 
The  mind  returns  with  a  spiritual  image, 
As  when  seeking  the  outlines  of  waves, 
As  when  painting  the  glory  of  spring. 
The  changing  shapes  of  wind-swept  clouds^ 
The  energies  of  flowers  and  plants, 
The  rolling  breakers  of  ocean, 
The  crags  and  cliff's  of  mountains, 
All  these  are  like  mighty  TAO, 
Skilfully  woven  into  earthly  surroundings.  .  .  . 
To  obtain  likeness  without  form, 
Is  not  that  to  possess  the  man  f  " 

xxi. — THE  TRANSCENDENTAL. 

"  Not  of  the  spirituality  of  the  mind, 
Nor  yet  of  the  atoms  of  the  cosmos, 
But  as  though  reached  upon  white  clouds^ 
Borne  thither  by  pellucid  breezes. 
Afar,  it  seems  at  hand, 
Approach,  'tis  no  longer  there j 


SSU-K'UNG  T-U  187 

Sharing  the  nature  of  TAO, 

//  shuns  the  limits  of  mortality. 

It  is  in  the  piled-up  hills,  in  tall  trees^ 

In  dark  mosses,  in  sunlight  rays.  .  .  . 

Croon  over  it,  think  upon  it; 

Its  faint  sound  eludes  the  ear" 

xxii. — ABSTRACTION. 
"  Without  friends,  longing  to  be  there^ 
Alone,  away  from  the  common  herd, 
Like  the  crane  on  Mount  Hou, 
Like  the  cloud  at  the  peak  of  Mount  Ifua. 
In  the  portrait  of  the  hero 
The  old  fire  still  lingers; 
The  leaf  carried  by  the  wind 
Floats  on  the  boundless  sea. 
It  would  seem  as  though  not  to  be  grasped, 
But  always  on  the  point  of  being  disclosed. 
Those  who  recognise  this  have  already  attained; 
Those  who  hope,  drift  daily  farther  away" 

xxiii.— ILLUMINED. 
"  Life  stretches  to  one  hundred  years, 
And  yet  how  brief  a  span; 
Its  joys  so  fleeting, 
Its  griefs  so  many  ! 
What  has  it  like  a  goblet  of  wine, 
And  daily  visits  to  the  wistaria  arbour, 
Where  flowers  cluster  around  the  eaves, 
And  light  showers  pass  overhead! 
Then  when  the  wine-cup  is  drained, 
To  stroll  about  with  staff  of  thorn ; 
For  who  of  us  but  will  some  day  be  an  ancient  1  .  .  . 
Ah,  there  is  the  South  Mountain  in  its  grandeur  ln  * 

xxiv.—  MOTION. 
"  Like  a  whirling  water-wheel, 
Like  rolling  pearls, — 
Yet  how  are  these  worthy  to  be  named? 
They  are  but  illustrations  for  fools. 


This  remains,  while  all  other  things  pass  away. 


388  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

There  is  the  mighty  axis  of  Earthy 
The  never-resting  pole  of  Heaven; 
Let  us  grasp  their  clue, 
And  with  them  be  blended  in  One, 
Beyond  the  bounds  of  thought, 
Circling  for  ever  in  the  great  Void\ 
An  orbit  of  a  thousand  years, — 
KM,  this  is  the  key  to  my  theme* 


CHAPTER    II 

CLASSICAL  AND  GENERAL  LITERATURE 

THE  classical  scholarship  of  the  Tang  dynasty  was 
neither  very  original  nor  very  profound.  It  is  true  that  the 
second  Emperor  founded  a  College  of  Learning,  but  its 
members  were  content  to  continue  the  traditions  of  the 
Hans,  and  comparatively  little  was  achieved  in  the  line 
of  independent  research.  Foremost  among  the  names 
in  the  above  College  stands  that  of  Lu  YUAN-LANG 
(550-625).  He  had  been  Imperial  Librarian  under  the 
preceding  dynasty,  and  later  on  distinguished  himself 
by  his  defence  of  Confucianism  against  both  Buddhist 
and  Taoist  attacks.  He  published  a  valuable  work  on 
the  explanations  of  terms  and  phrases  in  the  Classics  and 
in  Taoist  writers. 

Scarcely  less  eminent  as  a  scholar  was  WEI  CHENG 
(581-643),  who  also  gained  great  reputation  as  a 
military  commander.  He  was  appointed  President  of 
the  Commission  for  drawing  up  the  history  of  the 
previous  dynasty,  and  he  was,  in  addition,  a  poet  of  no 
mean  order.  At  his  death  the  Emperor  said,  "  You  may 
use  copper  as  a  mirror  for  the  person  ;  you  may  use  the 
past  as  a  mirror  for  politics ;  and  you  may  use  man  as 
a  mirror  to  guide  one's  judgment  in  ordinary  affairs. 
These  three  mirrors  I  have  always  carefully  cherished ; 

but  now  that  Wei  Cheng  is  gone,  I  have  lost  one  of  them." 

189 


i po  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

Another  well-known  scholar  is  YEN  SHIH-KU  (579- 
645).  He  was  employed  upon  a  recension  of  the 
Classics,  and  also  upon  a  new  and  annotated  edition  of 
the  history  of  the  Han  dynasty ;  but  his  exegesis  in  the 
former  case  caused  dissatisfaction,  and  he  was  ordered  to 
a  provincial  post.  Although  nominally  reinstated  before 
this  degradation  took  effect,  his  ambition  was  so  far 
wounded  that  he  ceased  to  be  the  same  man.  He  lived 
henceforth  a  retired  and  simple  life. 

Li  Po-YAO  (565-648)  was  so  sickly  a  child,  and 
swallowed  so  much  medicine,  that  his  grandmother 
insisted  on  naming  him  Po-yao  =  Pharmacopoeia,  while 
his  precocious  cleverness  earned  for  him  the  sobriquet 
of  the  Prodigy.  Entering  upon  a  public  career,  he 
neglected  his  work  for  gaming  and  drink,  and  after  a 
short  spell  of  office  he  retired.  Later  on  he  rose 
once  more,  and  completed  the  History  of  the  Northern 
Ch'i  Dynasty. 

A  descendant  of  Confucius  in  the  thirty-second 
degree,  and  a  distinguished  scholar  and  public  function- 
ary, was  K'UNG  YING-TA  (574-648).  He  wrote  a  com- 
mentary on  the  Book  of  Odes,  and  is  credited  with 
certain  portions  of  the  History  of  the  Sui  Dynasty. 
Besides  this,  he  is  responsible  for  comments  and  glosses 
on  the  Great  Learning  and  on  the  Doctrine  of  the  Mean. 

Lexicography  was  perhaps  the  department  of  pure 
scholarship  in  which  the  greatest  advances  were  made. 
Dictionaries  on  the  phonetic  system,  based  upon  the 
work  of  Lu  Fa-yen  of  the  sixth  century,  came  very 
much  into  vogue,  as  opposed  to  those  on  the  radical 
system  initiated  by  Hsu  Shen.  Not  that  the  splendid 
work  of  the  latter  was  allowed  to  suffer  from  neglect. 
Li  YANG-PING,  of  the  eighth  century,  devoted  much 


CHANG  CHIH-HO  191 

time  and  labour  to  improving  and  adding  to  its  pages. 
The  latter  was  a  Government  official,  and  when  filling  a 
post  as  magistrate  in  763,  he  is  said  to  have  obtained 
rain  during  a  drought  by  threatening  the  City  God  with 
the  destruction  of  his  temple  unless  his  prayers  were 
answered  within  three  days. 

CHANG  CHIH-HO  (eighth  century),  author  of  a  work 
on  the  conservation  of  vitality,  was  of  a  romantic  turn  of 
mind  and  especially  fond  of  Taoist  speculations.  He 
took  office  under  the  Emperor  Su  Tsung  of  the  T'ang 
dynasty,  but  got  into  some  trouble  and  was  banished. 
Soon  after  this  he  shared  in  a  general  pardon  ;  where- 
upon he  fled  to  the  woods  and  mountains  and  became  a 
wandering  recluse,  calling  himself  the  Old  Fisherman  of 
the  Mists  and  Waters.  He  spent  his  time  in  angling,  but 
used  no  bait,  his  object  not  being  to  catch  fish.  When 
asked  why  he  roamed  about,  Chang  answered  and  said, 
"  With  the  empyrean  as  my  home,  the  bright  moon  my 
constant  companion,  and  the  four  seas  my  inseparable 
friends, — what  mean  you  by  roaming?"  And  when  a 
friend  offered  him  a  comfortable  home  instead  of  his 
poor  boat,  he  replied,  "  I  prefer  to  follow  the  gulls  into 
cloudland,  rather  than  to  bury  my  eternal  self  beneath 
the  dust  of  the  world." 

The  author  of  the  T*ung  Tien,  an  elaborate  treatise  on 
the  constitution,  still  extant,  was  Tu  Yu  (d.  812).  It 
is  divided  into  eight  sections  under  Political  Economy, 
Examinations  and  Degrees,  Government  Offices,  Rites, 
Music,  Military  Discipline,  Geography,  and  National 
Defences. 

Among  writers  of  general  prose  literature,  Liu  TSUNG- 
YUAN  (773-819)  has  left  behind  him  much  that  for  purity 
of  style  and  felicity  of  expression  has  rarely  been  sur- 


192  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

passed.  Besides  being  poet,  essayist,  and  calligraphist, 
he  was  a  Secretary  in  the  Board  of  Rites.  There  he 
became  involved  in  a  conspiracy,  and  was  banished  to  a 
distant  spot,  where  he  died.  His  views  were  deeply 
tinged  with  Buddhist  thought,  for  which  he  was  often 
severely  censured,  once  in  a  letter  by  his  friend  and 
master,  Han  Yii.  These  few  lines  are  part  of  his  reply 
on  the  latter  occasion  : — 

"The  features  I  admire  in  Buddhism  are  those  which 
are  coincident  with  the  principles  enunciated  in  our  own 
sacred  books.  And  I  do  not  think  that,  even  were  the 
holy  sages  of  old  to  revisit  the  earth,  they  would  fairly  be 
able  to  denounce  these.  Now,  Han  Yii  objects  to  the 
Buddhist  commandments.  He  objects  to  the  bald  pates 
of  the  priests,  their  dark  robes,  their  renunciation  of 
domestic  ties,  their  idleness,  and  life  generally  at  the 
expense  of  others.  So  do  I.  But  Han  Yii  misses  the 
kernel  while  railing  at  the  husk.  He  sees  the  lode,  but 
not  the  ore.  I  see  both  ;  hence  my  partiality  for  this 
faith. 

"  Again,  intercourse  with  men  of  this  religion  does  not 
necessarily  imply  conversion.  Even  if  it  did,  Buddhism 
admits  no  envious  rivalry  for  place  or  power.  The 
majority  of  its  adherents  love  only  to  lead  a  simple  life  of 
contemplation  amid  the  charms  of  hill  and  stream.  And 
when  I  turn  my  gaze  towards  the  hurry-scurry  of  the 
age,  in  its  daily  race  for  the  seals  and  tassels  of  office,  I 
ask  myself  if  I  am  to  reject  those  in  order  to  take  my 
place  among  the  ranks  of  these. 

"The  Buddhist  priest,  Hao-ch'u,  is  a  man  of  placid 
temperament  and  of  passions  subdued.  He  is  a  fine 
scholar.  His  only  joy  is  to  muse  o'er  flood  and  fell, 
with  occasional  indulgence  in  the  delights  of  composi- 


LIU  TSUNG-YCAN  193 

tion.  His  family  follow  in  the  same  path.  He  is 
independent  of  all  men,  and  no  more  to  be  compared 
with  those  heterodox  sages  of  whom  we  make  so  much 
than  with  the  vulgar  herd  of  the  greedy,  grasping  world 
around  us." 

On  this  the  commentator  remarks,  that  one  must  have 
the  genius  of  Han  Yii  to  condemn  Buddhism,  the  genius 
of  Liu  Tsung-yiian  to  indulge  in  it. 

Here  is  a  short  study  on  a  great  question  : — 

"  Over  the  western  hills  the  road  trends  away  towards 
the  north,  and  on  the  farther  side  of  the  pass  separates 
into  two.  The  westerly  branch  leads  to  nowhere  in 
particular  ;  but  if  you  follow  the  other,  which  takes  a 
north-easterly  turn,  for  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  you 
will  find  that  the  path  ends  abruptly,  while  the  stream 
forks  to  enclose  a  steep  pile  of  boulders.  On  the 
summit  of  this  pile  there  is  what  appears  to  be  an 
elegantly  built  look-out  tower ;  below,  as  it  were  a 
battlemented  wall,  pierced  by  a  city  gate,  through  which 
one  gazes  into  darkness.  A  stone  thrown  in  here  falls 
with  a  splash  suggestive  of  water,  and  the  reverberations 
of  this  sound  are  audible  for  some  time.  There  is  a  way 
round  from  behind  up  to  the  top,  whence  nothing  is 
seen  far  and  wide  except  groves  of  fine  straight  trees, 
which,  strange  to  say,  are  grouped  symmetrically,  as  if 
by  an  artist's  hand. 

"  Now,  I  have  always  had  my  doubts  about  the 
existence  of  a  God,  but  this  scene  made  me  think  He 
really  must  exist.  At  the  same  time,  however,  I  began 
to  wonder  why  He  did  not  place  it  in  some  worthy 
centre  of  civilisation,  rather  than  in  this  out-of-the-way 
barbarous  region,  where  for  centuries  there  has  been  no 
one  to  enjoy  its  beauty.  And  so,  on  the  other  hand, 


194  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

such  waste  of  labour  and  incongruity  of  position  dis« 
posed  me  to  think  that  there  cannot  be  a  God  after  all." 

One  favourite  piece  is  a  letter  which  Liu  Tsung-yiian 
writes  in  a  bantering  style  to  congratulate  a  well-to- 
do  literary  man  on  having  lost  everything  in  a  fire, 
especially,  as  he  explains,  if  the  victim  has  been  "  utterly 
and  irretrievably  beggared."  It  will  give  such  a  rare 
opportunity,  he  points  out,  to  show  the  world  that  there 
was  no  connection  whatever  between  worldly  means 
and  literary  reputation. 

A  well-known  satirical  piece  by  Liu  Tsung-yiian  is 
entitled  "Catching  Snakes,"  and  is  directed  against 
the  hardships  of  over-taxation  : — 

"  In  the  wilds  of  Hu-kuang  there  is  an  extraordinary 
kind  of  snake,  having  a  black  body  with  white  rings. 
Deadly  fatal,  even  to  the  grass  and  trees  it  may  chance 
to  touch  ;  in  man,  its  bite  is  absolutely  incurable.  Yet, 
if  caught  and  prepared,  when  dry,  in  the  form  of  cakes, 
the  flesh  of  this  snake  will  soothe  excitement,  heal 
leprous  sores,  remove  sloughing  flesh,  and  expel  evil 
spirits.  And  so  it  came  about  that  the  Court  physician, 
acting  under  Imperial  orders,  exacted  from  each  family 
a  return  of  two  of  these  snakes  every  year  ;  but  as  few 
persons  were  able  to  comply  with  the  demand,  it  was 
subsequently  made  known  that  the  return  of  snakes  was 
to  be  considered  in  lieu  of  the  usual  taxes.  Thereupon 
there  ensued  a  general  stampede  among  the  people  of 
those  parts." 

It  turned  out,  however,  that  snake-catching  was 
actually  less  deadly  than  paying  such  taxes  as  were 
exacted  from  those  who  dared  not  face  its  risks  and 
elected  to  contribute  in  the  ordinary  way.  One  man, 
whose  father  and  grandfather  had  both  perished  from 


LIU  TSUNG-YOAN  195 

snake-bites,  declared  that  after  all  he  was  better  off  than 
his  neighbours,  who  were  ground  down  and  beggared  by 
the  iniquities  of  the  tax-gatherer.  "  Harsh  tyrants,"  he 
explained,  "  sweep  down  upon  us,  and  throw  everybody 
and  everything,  even  to  the  brute  beasts,  into  paroxysms 
of  terror  and  disorder.  But  I, — I  get  up  in  the  morn- 
ing and  look  into  the  jar  where  my  snakes  are  kept ;  and 
if  they  are  still  there,  I  lie  down  at  night  in  peace.  At 
the  appointed  time,  I  take  care  that  they  are  fit  to  be 
handed  in  ;  and  when  that  is  done,  I  retire  to  enjoy  the 
produce  of  my  farm  and  complete  the  allotted  span  of 
my  existence.  Only  twice  a  year  have  I  to  risk  my  life  : 
the  rest  is  peaceful  enough  and  not  to  be  compared  with 
the  daily  round  of  annoyance  which  falls  to  the  share  of 
my  fellow-villagers." 

A  similar  satire  on  over-government  introduces  a 
deformed  gardener  called  Camel-back.  This  man  was 
extraordinarily  successful  as  a  nurseryman  : — 

"  One  day  a  customer  asked  him  how  this  was  so  ;  to 
which  he  replied,  '  Old  Camel-back  cannot  make  trees 
live  or  thrive.  He  can  only  let  them  follow  their 
natural  tendencies.  Now  in  planting  trees,  be  careful 
to  set  the  root  straight,  to  smooth  the  earth  around 
them,  to  use  good  mould,  and  to  ram  it  down  well. 
Then,  don't  touch  them  ;  don't  think  about  them  ;  don't 
go  and  look  at  them  ;  but  leave  them  alone  to  take  care 
of  themselves,  and  nature  will  do  the  rest.  I  only  avoid 
trying  to  make  my  trees  grow.  I  have  no  special 
method  of  cultivation,  no  special  means  for  securing 
luxuriance  of  growth.  I  only  don't  spoil  the  fruit.  I 
have  no  way  of  getting  it  either  early  or  in  abundance. 
Other  gardeners  set  with  bent  root  and  neglect  the 
mould.  They  heap  up  either  too  much  earth  or  too 


196  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

little.  Or  if  not  this,  then  they  become  too  fond  of  and 
too  anxious  about  their  trees,  and  are  for  ever  running 
backwards  and  forwards  to  see  how  they  are  growing  ; 
sometimes  scratching  them  to  make  sure  they  are  still 
alive,  or  shaking  them  about  to  see  if  they  are  sufficiently 
firm  in  the  ground  ;  thus  constantly  interfering  with  the 
natural  bias  of  the  tree,  and  turning  their  affection  and 
care  into  an  absolute  bane  and  a  curse.  I  only  don't  do 
these  things.  That's  all.' 

" '  Can  these  principles  you  have  just  now  set  forth 
be  applied  to  government  ?  '  asked  his  listener.  '  Ah  ! ' 
replied  Camel-back,  '  I  only  understand  nursery-garden- 
ing :  government  is  not  my  trade.  Still,  in  the  village 
where  I  live,  the  officials  are  for  ever  issuing  all  kinds  of 
orders,  as  if  greatly  compassionating  the  people,  though 
really  to  their  utter  injury.  Morning  and  night  the 
underlings  come  round  and  say,  '  His  Honour  bids  us 
urge  on  your  ploughing,  hasten  your  planting,  and 
superintend  your  harvest.  Do  not  delay  with  your 
spinning  and  weaving.  Take  care  of  your  children. 
Rear  poultry  and  pigs.  Come  together  when  the  drum 
beats.  Be  ready  at  the  sound  of  the  rattle.'  Thus  are 
we  poor  people  badgered  from  morn  till  eve.  We  have 
not  a  moment  to  ourselves.  How  could  any  one  flourish 
and  develop  naturally  under  such  conditions  ? ' " 

In  his  prose  writings  Han  Yii  showed  even  more 
variety  of  subject  than  in  his  verse.  His  farewell  words 
to  his  dead  friend  Liu  Tsung-yiian,  read,  according  to 
Chinese  custom,  by  the  side  of  the  bier  or  at  the  grave, 
and  then  burnt  as  a  means  of  communicating  them  to 
the  deceased,  are  widely  known  to  his  countrymen  : — 

u  Alas  !  Tzu-hou,  and  hast  thou  come  to  this  pass  ?—• 


HAN  YC  197 

Fool  that  i  am!  is  it  not  the  pass  to  which  mortals  have 
ever  come  ?  Man  is  born  into  the  world  like  a  dream  : 
what  need  has  he  to  take  note  of  gain  or  loss  ?  While 
the  dream  lasts,  he  may  sorrow  or  may  joy ;  but  when 
the  awakening  is  at  hand,  why  cling  regretfully  to  the 
past  ? 

"Twere  well  for  all  things  an  they  had  no  worth. 
The  excellence  of  its  wood  is  the  bane  of  the  tree.  And 
thou,  whose  early  genius  knew  no  curb,  weaver  of  the 
jewelled  words,  thou  wilt  be  remembered  when  the  im- 
beciles of  fortune  and  place  are  forgot. 

"The  unskilful  bungler  hacks  his  hands  and  streams 
with  sweat,  while  the  expert  craftsman  looks  on  with 
folded  arms.  O  my  friend,  thy  work  was  not  for  this 
age  ;  though  I,  a  bungler,  have  found  employment  in  the 
service  of  the  State.  Thou  didst  know  thyself  above  the 
common  herd ;  but  when  in  shame  thou  didst  depart 
never  to  return,  the  Philistines  usurped  thy  place. 

"Alas  !  Tzu-hou,  now  thou  art  no  more.  But  thy  last 
wish,  that  I  should  care  for  thy  little  son,  is  still  ringing 
sadly  in  my  ears.  The  friendships  of  the  day  are  those 
of  self-interest  alone.  How  can  I  feel  sure  that  I  shall 
live  to  carry  out  thy  behest  ?  I  did  not  arrogate  to  myself 
this  duty.  Thou  thyself  hast  bidden  me  to  the  task  ;  and, 
by  the  Gods  above,  I  will  not  betray  thy  trust. 

"Thou  hast  gone  to  thy  eternal  home,  and  wilt  not 
return.  With  these  sacrifices  by  thy  coffin's  side,  I  utter 
an  affectionate  farewell." 

The  following  passages  are  taken  from  his  essay  on  the 
Way  or  Method  of  Confucianism  : — 

"  Had  there  been  no  sages  of  old,  the  race  of  man 
would  have  long  since  become  extinct.  Men  have  not 
fur  and  feathers  and  scales  to  adjust  the  temperature  of 


198  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

their  bodies ;  neither  have  they  claws  and  fangs  to  aid 
them  in  the  struggle  for  food.  Hence  their  organisation, 
as  follows : — The  sovereign  issues  commands.  The 
minister  carries  out  these  commands,  and  makes  them 
known  to  the  people.  The  people  produce  grain  and 
flax  and  silk,  fashion  articles  of  everyday  use,  and  inter- 
change commodities,  in  order  to  fulfil  their  obligations  to 
their  rulers.  The  sovereign  who  fails  to  issue  his  com- 
mands loses  his  raison  d'etre;  the  minister  who  fails  to 
carry  out  his  sovereign's  commands,  and  to  make  them 
known  to  the  people,  loses  his  raison  d'etre ;  the  people 
who  fail  to  produce  grain  and  flax  and  silk,  fashion 
articles  of  everyday  use,  and  interchange  commodities, 
in  order  to  fulfil  their  obligations  to  their  rulers,  should 
lose  their  heads." 

"  And  if  I  am  asked  what  Method  is  this,  I  reply  that 
it  is  what  I  call  the  Method,  and  not  merely  a  method 
like  those  of  Lao  Tzu  and  Buddha.  The  Emperor  Yao 
handed  it  down  to  the  Emperor  Shun ;  the  Emperor 
Shun  handed  it  down  to  the  Great  Yii ;  and  so  on  until 
it  reached  Confucius,  and  lastly  Mencius,  who  died  with- 
out transmitting  it  to  any  one  else.  Then  followed  the 
heterodox  schools  of  Hsiin  and  Yang,  wherein  much 
that  was  essential  was  passed  over,  while  the  criterion 
was  vaguely  formulated.  In  the  days  before  Chou  Kung, 
the  Sages  were  themselves  rulers  ;  hence  they  were  able 
to  secure  the  reception  of  their  Method.  In  the  days 
after  Chou  Kung,  the  Sages  were  all  high  officers  of 
State  ;  hence  its  duration  through  a  long  period  of  time. 

"  And  now,  it  will  be  asked,  what  is  the  remedy  ?  I 
answer  that  unless  these  false  doctrines  are  rooted  out, 
the  true  faith  will  not  prevail.  Let  us  insist  that  the 


HAN  YO  199 

followers  of  Lao  Tzu  and  Buddha  behave  themselves 
like  ordinary  mortals.  Let  us  burn  their  books.  Let  us 
turn  their  temples  into  dwelling-houses.  Let  us  make" 
manifest  the  Method  of  our  ancient  kings,  in  order  that 
men  may  be  led  to  embrace  its  teachings." 

Of  the  character  of  Han  Yii's  famous  ultimatum  to  the 
crocodile,  which  all  Chinese  writers  have  regarded  as 
a  real  creature,  though  probably  the  name  is  but  an 
allegorical  veil,  the  following  extract  may  suffice  : — 

"  O  Crocodile  !  thou  and  I  cannot  rest  together  here. 
The  Son  of  Heaven  has  confided  this  district  and  this 
people  to  my  charge ;  and  thou,  O  goggle-eyed,  by 
disturbing  the  peace  of  this  river  and  devouring  the 
people  and  their  domestic  animals,  the  bears,  the  boars, 
and  deer  of  the  neighbourhood,  in  order  to  batten  thyself 
and  reproduce  thy  kind, — thou  art  challenging  me  to  a 
struggle  of  life  and  death.  And  I,  though  of  weakly 
frame,  am  I  to  bow  the  knee  and  yield  before  a  croco- 
dile ?  No  !  I  am  the  lawful  guardian  of  this  place,  and 
1  would  scorn  to  decline  thy  challenge,  even  were  it  to 
cost  me  my  life. 

"  Still,  in  virtue  of  my  commission  from  the  Son  of 
Heaven,  I  am  bound  to  give  fair  warning ;  and  thou,  O 
crocodile,  if  thou  art  wise,  will  pay  due  heed  to  my 
words.  There  before  thee  lies  the  broad  ocean,  the 
domain  alike  of  the  whale  and  the  shrimp.  Go  thither 
and  live  in  peace.  It  is  but  the  journey  of  a  day." 

The  death  of  a  dearly  loved  nephew,  comparatively 
near  to  him  in  age,  drew  from  Han  Yii  a  long  and  pathetic 
"  In  Memoriam,"  conveyed,  as  mentioned  above,  to  the 
ears  of  the  departed  through  the  medium  of  fire  and 
smoke.  These  are  two  short  extracts  : — 

"  The  line  of  my  noble-hearted  brother  has  indeed  been 


200  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

prematurely  cut  off.  Thy  pure  intelligence,  hope  of  the 
family,  survives  not  to  continue  the  traditions  ot  his 
house.  Unfathomable  are  the  appointments  of  what 
men  call  Heaven  :  inscrutable  are  the  workings  of  the 
unseen  :  unknowable  are  the  mysteries  of  eternal  truth  : 
unrecognisable  those  who  are  destined  to  attain  to  old  age ! 
"  Henceforth  my  grey  hairs  will  grow  white,  my  strength 
fail.  Physically  and  mentally  hurrying  on  to  decay,  how 
long  before  I  shall  follow  thee  ?  If  there  is  knowledge 
after  death,  this  separation  will  be  but  for  a  little  while. 
If  there  is  not  knowledge  after  death,  so  will  this  sorrow 
be  but  for  a  little  while,  and  then  no  more  sorrow  for  ever." 

"  O  ye  blue  heavens,  when  shall  my  sorrow  have 
end  ?  Henceforth  the  world  has  no  charms.  I  will 
get  me  a  few  acres  on  the  banks  of  the  Ying,  and  there 
await  the  end,  teaching  my  son  and  thy  son,  if  haply 
they  may  grow  up, — my  daughter  and  thy  daughter,  until 
their  day  of  marriage  comes.  Alas  !  though  words  fail, 
love  endureth.  Dost  thou  hear,  or  dost  thou  not  hear  ? 
Woe  is  me  :  Heaven  bless  thee  ! " 

Of  all  Han  Yii's  writings  in  prose  or  in  verse,  there 
was  not  one  which  caused  anything  like  the  sensation 
produced  by  his  memorial  to  the  Emperor  on  the  sub- 
ject of  Buddha's  bone.  The  fact  was,  Buddhism  was 
making  vast  strides  in  popular  esteem,  and  but  for 
some  such  bold  stand  as  was  made  on  this  occasion  by 
a  leading  man,  the  prestige  of  Confucianism  would  have 
received  a  staggering  blow.  Here  is  an  extract  from 
this  fiery  document,  which  sent  its  author  into  exile  and 
nearly  cost  him  his  life  : — 

"  Your  servant  has  now  heard  that  instructions  have 
been  issued  to  the  priestly  community  to  proceed  to 


HAN  Yt)  201 

Feng-hsiang  and  receive  a  bone  of  Buddha,  and  that 
from  a  high  tower  your  Majesty  will  view  its  intro- 
duction into  the  Imperial  Palace  ;  also  that  orders  have 
been  sent  to  the  various  temples,  commanding  that 
the  relic  be  received  with  the  proper  ceremonies.  Now, 
foolish  though  your  servant  may  be,  he  is  well  aware 
that  your  Majesty  does  not  do  this  in  the  vain  hope 
of  deriving  advantages  therefrom  ;  but  that  in  the  ful- 
ness of  our  present  plenty,  and  in  the  joy  which  reigns 
in  the  heart  of  all,  there  is  a  desire  to  fall  in  with  the 
wishes  of  the  people  in  the  celebration  at  the  capital 
of  this  delusive  mummery.  For  how  could  the  wisdom 
of  your  Majesty  stoop  to  participate  in  such  ridiculous 
beliefs  ?  Still  the  people  are  slow  of  perception  and 
easily  beguiled  ;  and  should  they  behold  your  Majesty 
thus  earnestly  worshipping  at  the  feet  of  Buddha,  they 
would  cry  out,  '  See  !  the  Son  of  Heaven,  the  All-Wise, 
is  a  fervent  believer ;  who  are  we,  his  people,  that  we 
should  spare  our  bodies?'  Then  would  ensue  a 
scorching  of  heads  and  burning  of  fingers ;  crowds 
would  collect  together,  and,  tearing  off  their  clothes  and 
scattering  their  money,  would  spend  their  time  from 
morn  to  eve  in  imitation  of  your  Majesty's  example. 
The  result  would  be  that  by  and  by  young  and  old, 
seized  with  the  same  enthusiasm,  would  totally  neglect 
the  business  of  their  lives ;  and  should  your  Majesty  not 
prohibit  it,  they  would  be  found  flocking  to  the  temples, 
ready  to  cut  off  an  arm  or  slice  their  bodies  as  an  offer- 
ing to  the  god.  Thus  would  our  traditions  and  customs 
be  seriously  injured,  and  ourselves  become  a  laughing- 
stock on  the  face  of  the  earth  ; — truly,  no  small  matter  1 

"  For  Buddha  was  a   barbarian.      His  language  was 
not  the  language  of  China.      His  clothes   were  of   an 


202  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

alien  cut.  He  did  not  utter  the  maxims  of  our  ancient 
rulers,  nor  conform  to  the  customs  which  they  have 
handed  down.  He  did  not  appreciate  the  bond  between 
prince  and  minister,  the  tie  between  father  and  son. 
Supposing,  indeed,  this  Buddha  had  come  to  our  capital 
in  the  flesh,  under  an  appointment  from  his  own  State, 
then  your  Majesty  might  have  received  him  with  a  few 
words  of  admonition,  bestowing  on  him  a  banquet  and 
a  suit  of  clothes,  previous  to  sending  him  out  of  the 
country  with  an  escort  of  soldiers,  and  thereby  have 
avoided  any  dangerous  influence  on  the  minds  of  the 
people.  But  what  are  the  facts  ?  The  bone  of  a  man 
long  since  dead  and  decomposed  is  to  be  admitted, 
forsooth,  within  the  precincts  of  the  Imperial  Palace  ! 
Confucius  said,  '  Pay  all  respect  to  spiritual  beings,  but 
keep  them  at  a  distance.'  And  so,  when  the  princes  of 
old  paid  visits  of  condolence  to  one  another,  it  was 
customary  for  them  to  send  on  a  magician  in  advance, 
with  a  peach-wand  in  his  hand,  whereby  to  expel  all 
noxious  influences  previous  to  the  arrival  of  his  master. 
Yet  now  your  Majesty  is  about  to  causelessly  introduce 
a  disgusting  object,  personally  taking  part  in  the  pro- 
ceedings, without  the  intervention  either  of  the  magician 
or  of  his  peach-wand.  Of  the  officials,  not  one  has 
raised  his  voice  against  it ;  of  the  censors,  not  one  has 
pointed  out  the  enormity  of  such  an  act.  Therefore 
your  servant,  overwhelmed  with  shame  for  the  censors, 
implores  your  Majesty  that  these  bones  be  handed 
over  for  destruction  by  fire  or  water,  whereby  the  root 
of  this  great  evil  may  be  exterminated  for  all  time, 
and  the  people  know  how  much  the  wisdom  of  your 
Majesty  surpasses  that  of  ordinary  men.  The  glory 
of  such  a  deed  will  be  beyond  all  praise.  And  should 


LI  HUA  203 

the  Lord  Buddha  have  power  to  avenge  this  insult  by 
the  infliction  of  some  misfortune,  then  let  the  vials  of 
his  wrath  be  poured  out  upon  the  person  of  your  ser- 
vant, who  now  calls  Heaven  to  witness  that  he  will  not 
repent  him  of  his  oath." 

A  writer  named  Li  HUA,  of  whom  little  is  known 
except  that  he  flourished  in  the  ninth  century,  has  left 
behind  him  one  very  much  admired  piece  entitled  "  On 
an  Old  Battlefield  "  :— 

"Vast,  vast, — a  limitless  extent  of  flat  sand,  without  a 
human  being  in  sight,  girdled  by  a  stream  and  dotted 
with  hills,  where  in  the  dismal  twilight  the  wind  moans 
at  the  setting  sun.  Shrubs  gone  :  grass  withered  :  all 
chill  as  the  hoar-frost  of  early  morn.  The  birds  of  the 
air  fly  past  :  the  beasts  of  the  field  shun  the  spot ;  for  it 
is,  as  I  was  informed  by  the  keeper,  the  site  of  an  old 
battlefield.  '  Many  a  time  and  oft,'  said  he,  '  has  an 
army  been  overthrown  on  this  spot ;  and  the  voices  of 
the  dead  may  frequently  be  heard  weeping  and  wailing 
in  the  darkness  of  the  night.'  " 

This  is  how  the  writer  calls  up  in  imagination  the 
ghastly  scene  of  long  ago  : — 

"  And  now  the  cruel  spear  does  its  work,  the  startled 
sand  blinds  the  combatants  locked  fast  in  the  death- 
struggle  ;  while  hill  and  vale  and  stream  groan  beneath 
the  flash  and  crash  of  arms.  By  and  by,  the  chill 
cold  shades  of  night  fall  upon  them,  knee-deep  in  snow, 
beards  stiff  with  ice.  The  hardy  vulture  seeks  its  nest  : 
the  strength  of  the  war-horse  is  broken.  Clothes  are  of 
no  avail ;  hands  frost-bitten,  flesh  cracked.  Even  nature 
lends  her  aid  to  the  Tartars,  contributing  a  deadly  blast, 
the  better  to  complete  the  work  of  slaughter  begun. 


204  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

Ambulance  waggons  block  the  way :  our  men  succumb 
to  flank  attacks.  Their  officers  have  surrendered  :  their 
general  is  dead.  The  river  is  choked  with  corpses  to 
its  topmost  banks  :  the  fosses  of  the  Great  Wall  are 
swimming  over  with  blood.  All  distinctions  are  oblite- 
rated in  that  heap  of  rotting  bones.  .  .  . 

"  Faintly  and  more  faintly  beats  the  drum.  Strength 
exhausted,  arrows  spent,  bow-strings  snapped,  swords 
shattered,  the  two  armies  fall  upon  one  another  in  the 
supreme  struggle  for  life  or  death.  To  yield  is  to 
become  the  barbarian's  slave  :  to  fight  is  to  mingle  our 
bones  with  the  desert  sand.  .  .  . 

"  No  sound  of  bird  now  breaks  from  the  hushed  hill- 
side. All  is  still  save  the  wind  whistling  through  the 
long  night.  Ghosts  of  the  dead  wander  hither  and 
thither  in  the  gloom  :  spirits  from  the  nether  world 
collect  under  the  dark  clouds.  The  sun  rises  and  shines 
coldly  over  the  trampled  grass,  while  the  fading  moon 
still  twinkles  upon  the  frost  flakes  scattered  around. 
What  sight  more  horrible  than  this  ! " 

The  havoc  wrought  by  the  dreaded  Tartars  is  indeed 
the  theme  of  many  a  poem  in  prose  as  well  as  in  verse. 
The  following  lines  by  CH'EN  T'AO,  of  about  this  date, 
record  a  patriotic  oath  of  indignant  volunteers  and  the 
mournful  issue  of  fruitless  valour  : — 

"  They  swore  the  Huns  should  perish  : 

they  would  die  if  needs  they  must.  .  .  . 
And  now  Jive  thousand,  sable-clad, 

have  bit  the  Tartar  dust. 
Along  the  river-bank  their  bones 

lie  scattered  where  they  may, 
But  still  their  forms  in  dreams  arise 

to  fair  ones  far  away'' 


'MEN  OF  TANG  205 

Among  their  other  glories,  the  Tangs  may  be  said 
to  have  witnessed  the  birth  of  popular  literature,  soon 
to  receive,  in  common  with  classical  scholarship,  an 
impetus  the  like  of  which  had  never  yet  been  felt. 

But  we  must  now  take  leave  of  this  dynasty,  the 
name  of  which  has  survived  in  common  parlance  to  this 
day.  For  just  as  the  northerners  are  proud  to  call  them- 
selves "sons  of  Han,"  so  do  the  Chinese  of  the  more 
southern  provinces  still  delight  to  be  known  as  the  "  men 
of  T'ang." 


BOOK   THE   FIFTH 

THE  SUNG  DYNASTY  (A.D.  900-1200) 


BOOK  THE    FIFTH 
THE  SUNG  DYNASTY  (A.D.  900-1200) 

CHAPTER   I 

THE  INVENTION  OF  BLOCK-PRINTING 

THE  T'ang  dynasty  was  brought  to  an  end  in  907,  and 
during  the  succeeding  fifty  years  the  empire  experienced 
no  fewer  than  five  separate  dynastic  changes.  It  was 
not  a  time  favourable  to  literary  effort ;  still  production 
was  not  absolutely  at  a  standstill,  and  some  minor  names 
have  come  down  to  us. 

Of  CHANG  Pi,  for  instance,  of  the  later  Chou  dynasty, 
little  is  known,  except  that  he  once  presented  a  volumi- 
nous memorial  to  his  sovereign  in  the  hope  of  staving 
off  political  collapse.  The  memorial,  we  are  told,  was 
much  admired,  but  the  advice  contained  in  it  was  not 
acted  upon.  These  few  lines  of  his  occur  in  many  a 
poetical  garland  : — 

"  After  parting,  dreams  possessed  me, 

and  I  wandered  you  know  where, 
And  we  sat  in  the  verandah, 

and  you  sang  the  sweet  old  air. 
209 


210  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

Then  I  woke,  with  no  one  near  me 

save  the  moon,  still  shining  on, 
And  lighting  up  dead  petals 

which  like  you  have  passed  and  gone" 

There  is,  however,  at  least  one  name  of  absorbing 
interest  to  the  foreign  student.  FENG  TAO  (881-954) 
is  best  known  to  the  Chinese  as  a  versatile  politician 
who  served  first  and  last  under  no  less  than  ten  Em- 
perors of  four  different  Houses,  and  gave  himself  a 
sobriquet  which  finds  its  best  English  equivalent  in 
''The  Vicar  of  Bray."  He  presented  himself  at  the 
Court  of  the  second  Emperor  of  the  Liao  dynasty  and 
positively  asked  for  a  post.  He  said  he  had  no  home, 
no  money,  and  very  little  brains ;  a  statement  which 
appears  to  have  appealed  forcibly  to  the  Tartar  monarch, 
who  at  once  appointed  him  grand  tutor  to  the  heir- 
apparent.  By  foreigners,  on  the  other  hand,  he  will  be 
chiefly  remembered  as  the  inventor  of  the  art  of  block- 
printing.  It  seems  probable,  indeed,  that  some  crude 
form  of  this  invention  had  been  already  known  early 
in  the  T'ang  dynasty,  but  until  the  date  of  Feng  Tao 
it  was  certainly  not  applied  to  the  production  of  books. 
Six  years  after  his  death  the  "fire-led"  House  of  Sung 
was  finally  established  upon  the  throne,  and  thence- 
forward the  printing  of  books  from  blocks  became  a 
familiar  handicraft  with  the  Chinese  people. 

With  the  advent  of  this  new  line,  we  pass,  as  the 
Chinese  fairy-stories  say,  to  "  another  heaven  and  earth." 
The  various  departments  of  history,  classical  scholarship, 
general  literature,  lexicography,  and  poetry  were  again 
filled  with  enthusiastic  workers,  eagerly  encouraged  by 
a  succession  of  enlightened  rulers.  And  although  there 
was  a  falling-off  consequent  upon  the  irruption  of  the 


GOLDEN  TARTARS  211 

Golden  Tartars  in  1125-1127,  when  the  ex-Emperor  and 
his  newly  appointed  successor  were  carried  captive  to 
the  north,  nevertheless  the  Sungs  managed  to  create  a 
great  epoch,  and  are  justly  placed  in  the  very  first  rank 
among  the  builders  of  Chinese  literature. 


CHAPTER  II 

HISTORY— CLASSICAL  AND  GENERAL 
LITERATURE 

THE  first  move  made  in  the  department  of  history  was 
nothing  less  than  to  re-write  the  whole  of  the  chro- 
nicles of  the  T'ang  dynasty.  The  usual  scheme  had 
already  been  carried  out  by  Liu  Hsu  (897-946),  a  learned 
scholar  of  the  later  Chin  dynasty,  but  on  many  grounds 
the  result  was  pronounced  unsatisfactory,  and  steps 
were  taken  to  supersede  it.  The  execution  of  this  pro- 
ject was  entrusted  to  Ou-yang  Hsiu  and  Sung  C'hi,  both 
of  whom  were  leading  men  in  the  world  of  letters. 
Ou-YANG  Hsiu  (1007-1072)  had  been  brought  up  in 
poverty,  his  mother  teaching  him  to  write  with  a  reed. 
By  the  time  he  was  fifteen  his  great  abilities  began  to 
attract  attention,  and  later  on  he  came  out  first  on  the 
list  of  candidates  for  the  third  or  highest  degree.  His 
public  life  was  a  chequered  one,  owing  to  the  bold 
positions  he  took  up  in  defence  of  what  he  believed  to 
be  right,  regardless  of  personal  interest.  Besides  the 
dynastic  history,  he  wrote  on  all  kinds  of  subjects,  grave 
and  gay,  including  an  exposition  of  the  Book  of  Poetry, 
a  work  on  ancient  inscriptions,  anecdotes  of  the  men  of 
his  day,  an  elaborate  treatise  on  the  peony,  poetry  and 
essays  without  end.  The  following  is  a  specimen  of  his 
lighter  work,  greatly  admired  for  the  beauty  of  its  style. 


OU-YANG  HSIU  213 

and  diligently  read  by  all  students  of  composition.  The 
theme,  as  the  reader  will  perceive,  is  the  historian  him- 
self :- 

"The  district  of  Ch'u  is  entirely  surrounded  by  hills, 
and  the  peaks  to  the  south-west  are  clothed  with  a 
dense  and  beautiful  growth  of  trees,  over  which  the  eye 
wanders  in  rapture  away  to  the  confines  of  Shantung. 
A  walk  of  two  or  three  miles  on  those  hills  brings  one 
within  earshot  of  the  sound  of  falling  water,  which 
gushes  forth  from  a  ravine  known  as  the  Wine-Foun- 
tain ;  while  hard  by  in  a  nook  at  a  bend  of  the  road  stands 
a  kiosque,  commonly  spoken  of  as  the  Old  Drunk- 
ard's Arbour.  It  was  built  by  a  Buddhist  priest,  called 
Deathless  Wisdom,  who  lived  among  these  hills,  and 
who  received  the  above  name  from  the  Governor. 
The  latter  used  to  bring  his  friends  hither  to  take  wine  ; 
and  as  he  personally  was  incapacitated  by  a  very  few 
cups,  and  was,  moreover,  well  stricken  in  years,  he  gave 
himself  the  sobriquet  of  the  Old  Drunkard.  But  it  was 
not  wine  that  attracted  him  to  this  spot.  It  was  the 
charming  scenery,  which  wine  enabled  him  to  enjoy. 

"  The  sun's  rays  peeping  at  dawn  through  the  trees, 
by  and  by  to  be  obscured  behind  gathering  clouds, 
leaving  naught  but  gloom  around,  give  to  this  spot  the 
alternations  of  morning  and  night.  The  wild-flowers 
exhaling  their  perfume  from  the  darkness  of  some  shady 
dell,  the  luxuriant  foliage  of  the  dense  forest  of  beautiful 
trees,  the  clear  frosty  wind,  and  the  naked  boulders 
of  the  lessening  torrent, — these  are  the  indications  of 
spring,  summer,  autumn,  and  winter.  Morning  is  the 
time  to  go  thither,  returning  with  the  shades  of  night, 
and  although  the  place  presents  a  different  aspect  with 
the  changes  of  the  seasons,  its  charms  are  subject  to  no 


214  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

interruption,  but  continue  alway.  Burden-carriers  sing 
their  way  along  the  road,  travellers  rest  awhile  under 
the  trees,  shouts  from  one,  responses  from  another, 
old  people  hobbling  along,  children  in  arms,  children 
dragged  along  by  hand,  backwards  and  forwards  all 
day  long  without  a  break, — these  are  the  people  of  Ch'u. 
A  cast  in  the  stream  and  a  fine  fish  taken  from  some  spot 
where  the  eddying  pools  begin  to  deepen  ;  a  draught  of 
cool  wine  from  the  fountain,  and  a  few  such  dishes  of 
meats  and  fruits  as  the  hills  are  able  to  provide, — these, 
nicely  spread  out  beforehand,  constitute  the  Governor's 
feast.  And  in  the  revelry  of  the  banquet-hour  there  is 
no  thought  of  toil  or  trouble.  Every  archer  hits  his 
mark,  and  every  player  wins  his  partie ;  goblets  flash 
from  hand  to  hand,  and  a  buzz  of  conversation  is  heard 
as  the  guests  move  unconstrainedly  about.  Among  them 
is  an  old  man  with  white  hair,  bald  at  the  top  of  his  head. 
This  is  the  drunken  Governor,  who,  when  the  evening 
sun  kisses  the  tips  of  the  hills  and  the  falling  shadows 
are  drawn  out  and  blurred,  bends  his  steps  homewards 
in  company  with  his  friends.  Then  in  the  growing 
darkness  are  heard  sounds  above  and  sounds  below ;  the 
beasts  of  the  field  and  the  birds  of  the  air  are  rejoicing 
at  the  departure  of  man.  They,  too,  can  rejoice  in  hills 
and  in  trees,  but  they  cannot  rejoice  as  man  rejoices. 
So  also  the  Governor's  friends.  They  rejoice  with  him, 
though  they  know  not  at  what  it  is  that  he  rejoices. 
Drunk,  he  can  rejoice  with  them,  sober,  he  can  discourse 
with  them, — such  is  the  Governor.  And  should  you  ask 
who  is  the  Governor,  I  reply,  'Ou-yang  Hsiu  of  Lu-ling.'  " 
Besides  dwelling  upon  the  beauty  of  this  piece  as 
vividly  portraying  the  spirit  of  the  age  in  which  it  was 
written,  the  commentator  proudly  points  out  that  in  it 


OU-YANG  HSIU  215 

the  particle  yeh,  with  influences  as  subtle  as  those  of 
the  Greek  ye,  occurs  no  fewer  than  twenty  times. 

The  next  piece  is  entitled  "An  Autumn  Dirge,"  and 
refers  to  the  sudden  collapse  of  summer,  so  common  a 
phenomenon  in  the  East : — 

"One  night  I  had  just  sat  down  to  my  books,  when 
suddenly  I  heard  a  sound  far  away  towards  the  south- 
west. Listening  intently,  I  wondered  what  it  could  be. 
On  it  came,  at  first  like  the  sighing  of  a  gentle  zephyr 
.  .  .  gradually  deepening  into  the  plash  of  waves  upon  a 
surf-beat  shore  .  .  .  the  roaring  of  huge  breakers  in  the 
startled  night,  amid  howling  storm-gusts  of  wind  and 
rain.  It  burst  upon  the  hanging  bell,  and  set  every  one 
of  its  pendants  tinkling  into  tune.  It  seemed  like  the 
muffled  march  of  soldiers,  hurriedly  advancing,  bit  in 
mouth,  to  the  attack,  when  no  shouted  orders  rend  the 
air,  but  only  the  tramp  of  men  and  horses  meet  the  ear. 

"  'Boy,'  said  I,  '  what  noise  is  that  ?  Go  forth  and  see.' 
'  Sir,'  replied  the  boy  on  his  return,  '  the  moon  and  stars 
are  brightly  shining  :  the  Silver  River  spans  the  sky. 
No  sound  of  man  is  heard  without  :  'tis  but  the  whisper- 
ing of  the  trees.' 

"'Alas  !'  I  cried,  'autumn  is  upon  us.  And  is  it  thus, 
O  boy,  that  autumn  comes  ? — autumn,  the  cruel  and  the 
cold  ;  autumn,  the  season  of  rack  and  mist ;  autumn,  the 
season  of  cloudless  skies  ;  autumn,  the  season  of  piercing 
blasts ;  autumn,  the  season  of  desolation  and  blight  ! 
Chill  is  the  sound  that  heralds  its  approach,  and  then  it 
leaps  upon  us  with  a  shout.  All  the  rich  luxuriance  of 
green  is  changed,  all  the  proud  foliage  of  the  forest 
swept  down  to  earth,  withered  beneath  the  icy  breath 
of  the  destroyer.  For  autumn  is  nature's  chief  execu- 
tioner, and  its  symbol  is  darkness.  It  has  the  temper  of 


216  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

steel,  and  its  symbol  is  a  sharp  sword.  It  is  the  avenging 
angel,  riding  upon  an  atmosphere  of  death.  As  spring 
is  the  epoch  of  growth,  so  autumn  is  the  epoch  of 
maturity.  And  sad  is  the  hour  when  maturity  is  passed, 
for  that  which  passes  its  prime  must  die. 

" '  Still,  what  is  this  to  plants  and  trees,  which  fade 
away  in  their  due  season  ?  .  .  .  But  stay  ;  there  is  man, 
man  the  divinest  of  all  things.  A  hundred  cares  wreck 
his  heart,  countless  anxieties  trace  their  wrinkles  on  his 
brow,  until  his  inmost  self  is  bowed  beneath  the  burden 
of  life.  And  swifter  still  he  hurries  to  decay  when  vainly 
striving  to  attain  the  unattainable,  or  grieving  over  his 
ignorance  of  that  which  can  never  be  known.  Then 
comes  the  whitening  hair — and  why  not  ?  Has  man  an 
adamantine  frame,  that  he  should  outlast  the  trees  of  the 
field  ?  Yet,  after  all,  who  is  it,  save  himself,  that  steals 
his  strength  away  ?  Tell  me,  O  boy,  what  right  has  man 
to  accuse  his  autumn  blast  ? ' 

"  My  boy  made  no  answer.  He  was  fast  asleep.  No 
sound  reached  me  save  that  of  the  cricket  chirping  its 
response  to  my  dirge." 

The  other  leading  historian  of  this  period  was  SUNG 
CH'I  (998-1061),  who  began  his  career  by  beating  his 
elder  brother  at  the  graduates'  examination.  He  was, 
however,  placed  tenth,  instead  of  first,  by  Imperial 
command,  and  in  accordance  with  the  precedence  of 
brothers.  He  rose  to  high  office,  and  was  also  a  volu- 
minous writer.  A  great  favourite  at  Court,  it  is  related 
that  he  was  once  at  some  Imperial  festivity  when  he 
began  to  feel  cold.  The  Emperor  bade  one  of  the 
ladies  of  the  seraglio  lend  him  a  tippet,  whereupon 
about  a  dozen  of  the  girls  each  offered  hers.  But 


SSC-MA  KUANG  217 

Sung  Ch'i  did  not  like  to  seem  to  favour  any  one,  and 
rather  than  offend  the  rest,  continued  to  sit  and  shiver. 
The  so-called  New  History  of  the  Tang  Dynasty,  which  he 
produced  in  co-operation  with  Ou-yang  Hsiu,  is  generally 
regarded  as  a  distinct  improvement  upon  the  work  of 
Liu  Hsu.  It  has  not,  however,  actually  superseded  the 
latter  work,  which  is  still  included  among  the  recognised 
dynastic  histories,  and  stands  side  by  side  with  its  rival. 

Meanwhile  another  star  had  risen,  in  magnitude  to 
be  compared  only  with  the  effulgent  genius  of  Ssu-ma 
Ch'ien.  Sst?-MA  KUANG  (1019-1086)  entered  upon  an 
official  career  and  rose  to  be  Minister  of  State.  Bux 
he  opposed  the  great  reformer,  Wang  An-shih,  and 
in  1070  was  compelled  to  resign.  He  devoted  the  rest 
of  his  life  to  the  completion  of  his  famous  work  known 
as  the  T'ung  Chien  or  Mirror  of  History,  a  title  bestowed 
upon  it  in  1084  by  the  Emperor,  because  "to  view  anti- 
quity as  it  were  in  a  mirror  is  an  aid  in  the  administra- 
tion of  government."  The  Mirror  of  History  covers  a 
period  from  the  fifth  century  B.C.  down  to  the  beginning 
of  the  Sung  dynasty,  A.D.  960,  and  was  supplemented  by 
several  important  works  from  the  author's  own  hand,  all 
bearing  upon  the  subject.  In  his  youth  the  latter  had 
been  a  devoted  student,  and  used  to  rest  his  arm  upon 
a  kind  of  round  wooden  pillow,  which  roused  him  to 
wakefulness  by  its  movement  every  time  he  began  to 
doze  over  his  work.  On  one  occasion,  in  childhood,  a 
small  companion  fell  into  a  water-kong,  and  would  have 
been  drowned  but  for  the  presence  of  mind  of  Ssu-ma 
Kuang.  He  seized  a  huge  stone,  and  with  it  cracked 
the  jar  so  that  the  water  poured  out.  As  a  scholar  he 
Had  a  large  library,  and  was  so  particular  in  the  hand- 


218  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

ling  of  his  books  that  even  after  many  years'  use  they 
were  still  as  good  as  new.  He  would  not  allow  his 
disciples  to  turn  over  leaves  by  scratching  them  up  with 
the  nails,  but  made  them  use  the  forefinger  and  second 
finger  of  the  right  hand.  In  1085  he  determined  to 
return  to  public  life,  but  he  had  not  been  many  months 
in  the  capital,  labouring  as  usual  for  his  country's 
good,  before  he  succumbed  to  an  illness  and  died,  uni- 
versally honoured  and  regretted  by  his  countrymen,  to 
whom  he  was  affectionately  known  as  the  Living  Buddha. 

The  following  extract  from  his  writings  refers  to  a  new 
and  dangerous  development  in  the  Censorate,  an  insti- 
tution which  still  plays  a  singular  part  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  China  : — 

"  Of  old  there  was  no  such  office  as  that  of  Censor. 
From  the  highest  statesman  down  to  the  artisan  and 
trader,  every  man  was  free  to  admonish  the  Throne. 
From  the  time  of  the  Han  dynasty  onwards,  this 
prerogative  was  vested  in  an  office,  with  the  weighty 
responsibility  of  discussing  the  government  of  the 
empire,  the  people  within  the  Four  Seas,  successes, 
failures,  advantages,  and  disadvantages,  in  order  of  im- 
portance and  of  urgency.  The  sole  object  in  this 
arrangement  was  the  benefit  of  the  State,  not  that  of 
the  Censor,  from  whom  all  ideas  of  fame  or  gain  were 
indeed  far  removed.  In  1017  an  edict  was  issued 
appointing  six  officers  to  undertake  these  Censorial 
duties,  and  in  1045  their  names  were  for  the  first  time 
written  out  on  boards  ;  and  then,  in  1062,  apparently 
for  better  preservation,  the  names  were  cut  on  stone. 
Thus  posterity  can  point  to  such  an  one  and  say, 
'  There  was  a  loyal  man  ; '  to  another,  '  There  was  a 
traitor ; '  to  a  third,  '  There  was  an  upright  man  ; '  to 


CHOU  TUN-I  219 

a  fourth,  'There  was  a  scoundrel.'     Does  not  this  give 
cause  for  fear  ?  " 

Contemporaneously  with  Ssu-ma  Kuang  lived  CHOU 
TuN-I  (1017-1073),  who  combined  the  duties  of  a  small 
military  command  with  prolonged  and  arduous  study. 
He  made  himself  ill  by  overwork  and  strict  attention  to 
the  interests  of  the  people  at  all  hazards  to  himself.  His 
chief  works  were  written  to  elucidate  the  mysteries  of 
the  Book  of  Changes,  and  were  published  after  his  death 
by  his  disciples,  with  commentaries  by  Chu  Hsi.  The 
following  short  satire,  veiled  under  the  symbolism  of 
flowers,  being  in  a  style  which  the  educated  Chinaman 
most  appreciates,  is  very  widely  known  : — 

"  Lovers  of  flowering  plants  and  shrubs  we  have 
had  by  scores,  but  T'ao  Ch'ien  alone  devoted  himself 
to  the  chrysanthemum.  Since  the  opening  days  of  the 
T'ang  dynasty,  it  has  been  fashionable  to  admire  the 
peony ;  but  my  favourite  is  the  water-lily.  How  stain- 
less it  rises  from  its  slimy  bed !  How  modestly  it  re- 
poses on  the  clear  pool — an  emblem  of  purity  and 
truth  !  Symmetrically  perfect,  its  subtle  perfume  is 
wafted  far  and  wide,  while  there  it  rests  in  spotless 
state,  something  to  be  regarded  reverently  from  a  dis- 
tance, and  not  to  be  profaned  by  familiar  approach. 

"  In  my  opinion  the  chrysanthemum  is  the  flower 
of  retirement  and  culture ;  the  peony  the  flower  of 
rank  and  wealth  ;  the  water-lily,  the  Lady  Virtue  sans 
pareille. 

"Alas!  few  have  loved  the  chrysanthemum  since 
T'ao  Ch'ien,  and  none  now  love  the  water-lily  like 
myself,  whereas  the  peony  is  a  general  favourite  with 
all  mankind." 


220  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

CH'£NG  HAD  (1032-1085)  and  CH'£NG  I  (1033-1107) 
were  two  brothers  famed  for  their  scholarship,  especially 
the  younger  of  the  two,  who  published  a  valuable  com- 
mentary upon  the  Book  of  Changes.  The  elder  attracted 
some  attention  by  boldly  suppressing  a  stone  image  in  a 
Buddhist  temple  which  was  said  to  emit  rays  from  its 
head,  and  had  been  the  cause  of  disorderly  gatherings 
of  men  and  women.  A  specimen  of  his  verse  will  be 
given  in  the  next  chapter.  Ch'eng  I  wrote  some  interest- 
ing chapters  on  the  art  of  poetry.  In  one  of  these  he 
says,  "Asked  if  a  man  can  make  himself  a  poet  by 
taking  pains,  I  reply  that  only  by  taking  pains  can  any 
one  hope  to  be  ranked  as  such,  though  on  the  other 
hand  the  very  fact  of  taking  pains  is  likely  to  be  inimical 
to  success.  The  old  couplet  reminds  us — 

'  E'er  one  pentameter  be  spoken 
How  many  a  human  heart  is  broken  }' 

There  is  also  another  old  couplet — 

ltTwere  sad  to  take  this  heart  of  mine 
And  break  it  o'er  a  five-foot  line! 

Both  of  these  are  very  much  to  the  point.  Confucius 
himself  did  not  make  verses,  but  he  did  not  advise  others 
to  abstain  from  doing  so." 

The  great  reformer  and  political  economist  WANG 
AN-SHIH  (1021-1086),  who  lived  to  see  all  his  policy 
reversed,  was  a  hard  worker  as  a  youth,  and  in  com- 
position his  pen  was  said  to  "  fly  over  the  paper."  As 
a  man  he  was  distinguished  by  his  frugality  and  his 
obstinacy.  He  wore  dirty  clothes  and  did  not  even 
wash  his  face,  for  which  Su  Hsim  denounced  him  as  a 
beast.  He  was  so  cocksure  of  all  his  own  views  that 


WANG  AN-SHIH  221 

he  would  never  admit  the  possibility  of  being  wrong, 
which  gained  for  him  the  sobriquet  of  the  Obstinate 
Minister.  He  attempted  to  reform  the  examination 
system,  requiring  from  the  candidate  not  so  much  graces 
of  style  as  a  wide  acquaintance  with  practical  subjects. 
"Accordingly,"  says  one  Chinese  writer,  "even  the  pupils 
at  village  schools  threw  away  their  text-books  of  rhetoric, 
and  began  to  study  primers  of  history,  geography,  and 
political  economy."  He  was  the  author  of  a  work  on 
the  written  characters,  with  special  reference  to  those 
which  are  formed  by  the  combination  of  two  or  more, 
the  meanings  of  which,  taken  together,  determine  the 
meaning  of  the  compound  character.  The  following  is 
a  letter  which  he  wrote  to  a  friend  on  the  study  of  false 
doctrines : — 

"  I  have  been  debarred  by  illness  from  writing  to  you 
now  for  some  time,  though  my  thoughts  have  been  with 
you  all  the  while. 

"In  reply  to  my  last  letter,  wherein  I  expressed  a  fear 
that  you  were  not  progressing  with  your  study  of  the 
Canon,  I  h:ive  received  several  from  you,  in  all  of  which 
you  seem  to  think  I  meant  the  Canon  of  Buddha,  and 
you  are  astonished  at  my  recommendation  of  such  per- 
nicious works.  But  how  could  I  possibly  have  intended 
any  other  than  the  Canon  of  the  sages  of  China  ?  And 
for  you  to  have  thus  missed  the  point  of  my  letter  is  a 
good  illustration  of  what  I  meant  when  I  said  I  feared 
you  were  not  progressing  with  your  study  of  the  Canon. 

"  Now  a  thorough  knowledge  of  our  Canon  has  not 
been  attained  by  any  one  for  a  very  long  period. 
Study  of  the  Canon  alone  does  not  suffice  for  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  Canon.  Consequently, 
I  have  been  myself  an  omnivorous  reader  of  books 


222  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

of  all  kinds,  even,  for  example,  of  ancient  medical 
and  botanical  works.  I  have,  moreover,  dipped  into 
treatises  on  agriculture  and  on  needlework,  all  of  which 
I  have  found  very  profitable  in  aiding  me  to  seize  the 
great  scheme  of  the  Canon  itself.  For  learning  in  these 
days  is  a  totally  different  pursuit  from  what  it  was  in  the 
olden  times ;  and  it  is  now  impossible  otherwise  to  get 
at  the  real  meaning  of  our  ancient  sages. 

"  There  was  Yang  Hsiung.  He  hated  all  books  that 
were  not  orthodox.  Yet  he  made  a  wide  study  of  hetero- 
dox writers.  By  force  of  education  he  was  enabled  to 
take  what  of  good  and  to  reject  what  of  bad  he  found 
in  each.  Their  pernicious  influence  was  altogether  lost 
on  him ;  while  on  the  other  hand  he  was  prepared  the 
more  effectively  to  elucidate  what  we  know  to  be  the 
truth.  Now,  do  you  consider  that  I  have  been  corrupted 
by  these  pernicious  influences  ?  If  so,  you  know  me  not. 

"  No !  the  pernicious  influences  of  the  age  are  not  to 
be  sought  for  in  the  Canon  of  Buddha.  They  are  to  be 
found  in  the  corruption  and  vice  of  those  in  high  places  ; 
in  the  false  and  shameless  conduct  which  is  now  rife 
among  us.  Do  you  not  agree  with  me  ?  " 

Su  SHIH  (1036-1101),  better  known  by  his  fancy  name 
as  Su  Tung-p'o,  whose  early  education  was  superin- 
tended by  his  mother,  produced  such  excellent  com- 
positions at  the  examination  for  his  final  degree  that 
the  examiner,  Ou-yang  Hsiu,  suspected  them  to  be 
the  work  of  a  qualified  substitute.  Ultimately  he  came 
out  first  on  the  list.  He  rose  to  be  a  statesman, 
who  made  more  enemies  than  friends,  and  was  per- 
petually struggling  against  the  machinations  of  un- 
scrupulous opponents,  which  on  one  occasion  resulted 


SU  SHIH  223 

in  his  banishment  to  the  island  of  Hainan,  then  a 
barbarous  and  almost  unknown  region.  He  was  also 
a  brilliant  essayist  and  poet,  and  his  writings  are  still 
the  delight  of  the  Chinese.  The  following  is  an  account 
of  a  midnight  picnic  to  a  spot  on  the  banks  of  a  river 
at  which  a  great  battle  had  taken  place  nearly  nine 
hundred  years  before,  and  where  one  of  the  opposing 
fleets  was  burnt  to  the  water's  edge,  reddening  a  wall, 
probably  the  cliff  alongside  : — 

"  In  the  year  1081,  the  seventh  moon  just  on  the 
wane,  I  went  with  a  friend  on  a  boat  excursion  to  the 
Red  Wall.  A  clear  breeze  was  gently  blowing,  scarce 
enough  to  ruffle  the  river,  as  I  filled  my  friend's  cup 
and  bade  him  troll  a  lay  to  the  bright  moon,  singing  the 
song  of  the  '  Modest  Maid.' 

"  By  and  by  up  rose  the  moon  over  the  eastern 
hills,  wandering  between  the  Wain  and  the  Goat,  shed- 
ding forth  her  silver  beams,  and  linking  the  water  with 
the  sky.  On  a  skiff  we  took  our  seats,  and  shot  over  the 
liquid  plain,  lightly  as  though  travelling  through  space, 
riding  on  the  wind  without  knowing  whither  we  were 
bound.  We  seemed  to  be  moving  in  another  sphere, 
sailing  through  air  like  the  gods.  So  I  poured  out  a 
bumper  for  joy,  and,  beating  time  on  the  skiff's  side, 
sang  the  following  verse  : — 

'With  laughing  oars,  our  joyous  prow 

Shoots  swiftly  through  the  glittering  wave — 
My  heart  within  grows  sadly  grave — 
Great  heroes  dead,  where  are  ye  now  ?' 

"  My  friend  accompanied  these  words  upon  his  fla- 
geolet, delicately  adjusting  its  notes  to  express  the  varied 
emotions  of  pity  and  regret,  without  the  slightest  break 
in  the  thread  of  sound  which  seemed  to  wind  around 


224  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

us  like  a  silken  skein.  The  very  monsters  of  the  deep 
yielded  to  the  influence  of  his  strains,  while  the  boat- 
woman,  who  had  lost  her  husband,  burst  into  a  flood  of 
tears.  Overpowered  by  my  own  feelings,  I  settled  my- 
self into  a  serious  mood,  and  asked  my  friend  for  some 
explanation  of  his  art.  To  this  he  replied,  '  Did  not 
Ts'ao  Ts'ao  say — 

'  The  stars  are  few,  the  moon  is  bright, 
The  raven  southward  wings  his  flight  V 

"'Westwards  to  Hsia-k'ou,  eastwards  to  Wu-ch'ang, 
where  hill  and  stream  in  wild  luxuriance  blend, — was 
it  not  there  that  Ts'ao  Ts'ao  was  routed  by  Chou  Yii  ? 
Ching-chou  was  at  his  feet :  he  was  pushing  down 
stream  towards  the  east.  His  war- vessels  stretched  stem 
to  stern  for  a  thousand  li:  his  banners  darkened  the 
sky.  He  poured  out  a  libation  as  he  neared  Chiang- 
ling  ;  and,  sitting  in  the  saddle  armed  cap-a-pie,  he 
uttered  those  words,  did  that  hero  of  his  age.  Yet 
where  is  he  to-day  ? 

" '  Now  you  and  I  have  fished  and  gathered  fuel  to- 
gether on  the  river  eyots.  We  have  fraternised  with 
the  crayfish ;  we  have  made  friends  with  the  deer.  We 
have  embarked  together  in  our  frail  canoe ;  we  have 
drawn  inspiration  together  from  the  wine-flask — a  couple 
of  ephemerides  launched  on  the  ocean  in  a  rice-husk  ! 
Alas  !  life  is  but  an  instant  of  Time.  I  long  to  be  like  the 
Great  River  which  rolls  on  its  way  without  end.  Ah, 
that  I  might  cling  to  some  angel's  wing  and  roam  with 
him  for  ever  !  Ah,  that  I  might  clasp  the  bright  moon 
in  my  arms  and  dwell  with  her  for  aye  !  Alas!  it  only 
remains  to  me  to  enwrap  these  regrets  in  the  tender 
melody  of  sound.' 


SU  SHIH  225 

"'But  do  you  forsooth  comprehend/  I  inquired,  'the 
mystery  of  this  river  and  of  this  moon?  The  water  passes 
by  but  is  never  gone :  the  moon  wanes  only  to  wax  once 
more.  Relatively  speaking,  Time  itself  is  but  an  instant 
of  time  ;  absolutely  speaking,  you  and  I,  in  common  with 
all  matter,  shall  exist  to  all  eternity.  Wherefore,  then, 
the  longing  of  which  you  speak  ? 

"'The  objects  we  see  around  us  are  one  and  all  the 
property  of  individuals.  If  a  thing  does  not  belong  to 
me,  not  a  particle  of  it  may  be  enjoyed  by  me.  But  the 
clear  breeze  blowing  across  this  stream,  the  bright  moon 
streaming  over  yon  hills, — these  are  sounds  and  sights 
to  be  enjoyed  without  let  or  hindrance  by  all.  They  are 
the  eternal  gifts  of  God  to  all  mankind,  and  their  enjoy- 
ment is  inexhaustible.  Hence  it  is  that  you  and  I  are 
enjoying  them  now.' 

"  My  friend  smiled  as  he  threw  away  the  dregs  from 
his  wine-cup  and  filled  it  once  more  to  the  brim.  And 
then,  when  our  feast  was  over,  amid  the  litter  of  cups 
and  plates,  we  lay  down  to  rest  in  the  boat :  for  streaks 
of  light  from  the  east  had  stolen  upon  us  unawares." 

The  completion  of  a  pavilion  which  Su  Shih  had 
been  building,  "as  a  refuge  from  the  business  of  life," 
coinciding  with  a  fall  of  rain  which  put  an  end  to  a 
severe  drought,  elicited  a  grateful  record  of  this  divine 
manifestation  towards  a  suffering  people.  "  The  pavilion 
was  named  after  rain,  to  commemorate  joy."  His  record 
concludes  with  these  lines  : — 

"  Should  Heaven  rain  pearls,  the  cold  cannot  wear  them  as  clothes  j 
Should  Heaven  rain  jade,  the  hungry  cannot  use  it  as  food. 
It  has  rained  without  cease  for  three  days — 
Whose  was  the  influence  at  work  f 
Should  you  say  it  was  that  of  your  Governor, 
The  Governor  himself  refers  it  to  the  Son  of  Heaven. 


226  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

But  the  Son  of  Heaven  says  '  No  !  it  was  God. 
And  God  says  '  No  !  it  was  Nature? 

And  as  Nature  lies  beyond  the  ken  of  man, 

I  christen  this  arbour  instead!1 

Another  piece  refers  to  a  recluse  who — 

"  Kept  a  couple  of  cranes,  which  he  had  carefully 
trained ;  and  every  morning  he  would  release  them  west- 
wards through  the  gap,  to  fly  away  and  alight  in  the 
marsh  below  or  soar  aloft  among  the  clouds  as  the  birds' 
own  fancy  might  direct.  At  nightfall  they  would  return 
with  the  utmost  regularity." 

This  piece  is  also  finished  off  with  a  few  poetical 
lines : — 

"  Away  !  away  !  my  birds, fly  westwards  now, 
To  wheel  on  high  and  gaze  on  all  below; 
To  swoop  together, pinions  closed,  to  earth; 
To  soar  aloft  once  more  among  the  clouds  ; 
To  wander  all  day  long  in  sedgy  -vale; 
To  gather  duckweed  in  the  stony  marsh. 
Come  back  !  come  back  !  beneath  the  lengthening  shades^ 
Your  serge-clad  master  stands,  guitar  in  hand. 
Tts  he  that  feeds  you  from  his  slender  store  : 
Come  back !  come  back !  nor  linger  in  the  west" 

His  account  of  Sleep-Land  is  based  upon  the  Drunk- 
Land  of  Wang  Chi : — 

"A  pure  administration  and  admirable  morals  pre- 
vail there,  the  whole  being  one  vast  level  tract,  with  no 
north,  south,  east,  or  west.  The  inhabitants  are  quiet 
and  affable  ;  they  suffer  from  no  diseases  of  any  kind, 
neither  are  they  subject  to  the  influences  of  the  seven 
passions.  They  have  no  concern  with  the  ordinary 
affairs  of  life ;  they  do  not  distinguish  heaven,  earth, 
the  sun,  and  the  moon ;  they  toil  not,  neither  do  they 
spin  ;  but  simply  lie  down  and  enjoy  themselves.  They 


HUANG  T'ING-CHIEN  227 

have  no  ships  and  no  carriages ;  their  wanderings,  how- 
ever, are  the  boundless  flights  of  the  imagination." 

His  younger  brother,  Su  CH£  (1039-1112),  poet  and 
official,  is  chiefly  known  for  his  devotion  to  Taoism. 
He  published  an  edition,  with  commentary,  of  the  Tao- 
Tt-Ching. 

One  of  the  Four  Scholars  of  his  century  is  HUANG 
T'lNG-CHiEN  (1050-1110),  who  was  distinguished  as  a 
poet  and  a  calligraphist.  He  has  also  been  placed 
among  the  twenty-four  examples  of  filial  piety,  for  when 
his  mother  was  ill  he  watched  by  her  bedside  for  a  whole 
year  without  ever  taking  off  his  clothes.  The  following 
is  a  specimen  of  his  epistolary  style  : — 

"  Hsi  K'ang's  verses  are  at  once  vigorous  and  purely 
beautiful,  without  a  vestige  of  commonplace  about 
them.  Every  student  of  the  poetic  art  should  know 
them  thoroughly,  and  thus  bring  the  author  into  his 
mind's  eye. 

"Those  who  are  sunk  in  the  cares  and  anxieties  of 
this  world's  strife,  even  by  a  passing  glance  would  gain 
therefrom  enough  to  clear  away  some  pecks  of  the  cob- 
webs of  mortality.  How  much  more  they  who  penetrate 
further  and  seize  each  hidden  meaning  and  enjoy  its 
flavour  to  the  full  ?  Therefore,  my  nephew,  I  send  you 
these  poems  for  family  reading,  that  you  may  cleanse 
your  heart  and  solace  a  weary  hour  by  their  perusal. 

"  As  I  recently  observed  to  my  own  young  people,  the 
true  hero  should  be  many-sided,  but  he  must  not  be 
commonplace.  It  is  impossible  to  cure  that.  Upon 
which  one  of  them  asked  by  what  characteristics  this 
absence  of  the  commonplace  was  distinguished.  '  It  is 
hard  to  say/  I  replied.  'A  man  who  is  not  common- 


228  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

place  is,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  much  like  other 
people.  But  he  who  at  moments  of  great  trial  does  not 
flinch,  he  is  not  commonplace.' " 

CHENG  CH'IAO  (1108-1166)  began  his  literary  career 
in  studious  seclusion,  cut  off  from  all  human  inter- 
course. Then  he  spent  some  time  in  visiting  various 
places  of  interest,  devoting  himself  to  searching  out 
marvels,  investigating  antiquities,  and  reading  (and  re- 
membering) every  book  that  came  in  his  way.  In 
1149  he  was  summoned  to  an  audience,  and  received  an 
honorary  post.  He  was  then  sent  home  to  copy  out  his 
History  of  China,  which  covered  a  period  from  about 
B.C.  2800  to  A.D.  600.  A  fine  edition  of  this  work,  in 
forty-six  large  volumes,  was  published  in  1749  by 
Imperial  command,  with  a  preface  by  the  Emperor 
Ch'ien  Lung.  He  also  wrote  essays  and  poetry,  besides 
a  treatise  in  which  he  showed  that  the  inscriptions  on 
the  Stone  Drums,  now  in  Peking,  belong  rather  to  the 
latter  half  of  the  third  century  B.C.  than  to  the  tenth  or 
eleventh  century  B.C.,  as  usually  accepted. 

The  name  of  CHU  Hsi  (1130-1200)  is  a  household 
word  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  literary 
China.  He  graduated  at  nineteen,  and  entered  upon  a 
highly  successful  official  career.  He  apparently  had  a 
strong  leaning  towards  Buddhism — some  say  that  he 
actually  became  a  Buddhist  priest ;  at  any  rate,  he  soon 
saw  the  error  of  his  ways,  and  gave  himself  up  com- 
pletely to  a  study  of  the  orthodox  doctrine.  He  was 
a  most  voluminous  -writer.  In  addition  to  his  revision 
of  the  history  of  Ssu-ma  Kuang,  which,  under  the 
title  of  Tung  Chien  Kang  Mu,  is  still  regarded  as  the 


CHU  HSI  229 

standard  history  of  China,  he  placed  himself  first  in  the 
first  rank  of  all  commentators  on  the  Confucian  Canon. 
He  introduced  interpretations  either  wholly  or  partly 
at  variance  with  those  which  had  been  put  forth  by  the 
scholars  of  the  Han  dynasty  and  hitherto  received  as 
infallible,  thus  modifying  to  a  certain  extent  the  pre- 
vailing standard  of  political  and  social  morality.  His 
principle  was  simply  one  of  consistency.  He  refused  to 
interpret  words  in  a  given  passage  in  one  sense,  and  the 
same  words  occurring  elsewhere  in  another  sense.  The 
result,  as  a  whole,  was  undoubtedly  to  quicken  with 
intelligibility  many  paragraphs  the  meaning  of  which 
had  been  obscured  rather  than  elucidated  by  the  earlier 
scholars  of  the  Han  dynasty.  Occasionally,  however, 
the  great  commentator  o'erleapt  himself.  Here  are 
two  versions  of  one  passage  in  the  Analects,  as  inter- 
preted by  the  rival  schools,  of  which  the  older  seems 
unquestionably  to  be  preferred  : — 

Han.  Chu  Hsi. 

Meng    Wu    asked    Confucius  Meng    Wu    asked    Confucius 

concerning     filial     piety.      The  concerning     filial     piety.      The 

Master    said,     "  It    consists    in  Master  said,  "  Parents  have  the 

giving  your  parents  no  cause  for  sorrow     of    thinking     anxiously 

anxiety  save  from   your  natural  about  their  children's  ailments." 
ailments." 

The  latter  of  these  interpretations  being  obviously 
incomplete,  Chu  Hsi  adds  a  gloss  to  the  effect  that 
children  are  therefore  in  duty  bound  to  take  great  care 
of  themselves. 

In  the  preface  to  his  work  on  the  Four  Books  as 
explained  by  Chu  Hsi,  published  in  1745,  Wang  Pu- 
clung  (born  1671)  has  the  following  passage: — "Shao 
Yung  tried  to  explain  the  Canon  of  Changes  by 


230  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

bers,  and  Ch'eng  I  by  the  eternal  fitness  of  things ;  but 
Chu  Hsi  alone  was  able  to  pierce  through  the  meaning, 
and  appropriate  the  thought  of  the  prophets  who  com- 
posed it."  The  other  best  known  works  of  Chu  Hsi  are 
a  metaphysical  treatise  containing  the  essence  of  his  later 
speculations,  and  the  Little  Learning,  a  handbook  for 
the  young.  It  has  been  contended  by  some  that  the 
word  "little"  in  the  last  title  refers  not  to  youthful 
learners,  but  to  the  lower  plane  on  which  the  book 
is  written,  as  compared  with  the  Great  Learning.  The 
following  extract,  however,  seems  to  point  more  to- 
wards Learning  for  the  Young  as  the  correct  rendering 
of  the  title  :— 

"  When  mounting  the  wall  of  a  city,  do  not  point  with 
the  finger  ;  when  on  the  top,  do  not  call  out. 

"When  at  a  friend's  house,  do  not  persist  in  asking 
for  anything  you  may  wish  to  have.  When  going  up- 
stairs, utter  a  loud  'Ahem!'  If  you  see  two  pairs  of 
shoes  outside  and  hear  voices,  you  may  go  in  ;  but  if 
you  hear  nothing,  remain  outside.  Do  not  trample  on 
the  shoes  of  other  guests,  nor  step  on  the  mat  spread  for 
food  ;  but  pick  up  your  skirts  and  pass  quickly  to  your 
allotted  place.  Do  not  be  in  a  hurry  to  arrive,  nor  in 
haste  to  get  away. 

"  Do  not  bother  the  gods  with  too  many  prayers.  Do 
not  make  allowances  for  your  own  shortcomings.  Do 
not  seek  to  know  what  has  not  yet  come  to  pass." 

Chu  Hsi  was  lucky  enough  to  fall  in  with  a  clever 
portrait  painter,  a  rara  avis  in  China  at  the  present  day 
according  to  Mr.  J.  B.  Coughtrie,  late  of  Hongkong,  who 
declares  that  "the  style  and  taste  peculiar  to  the  Chinese 
combine  to  render  a  lifelike  resemblance  impossible, 
and  the  completed  picture  unattractive.  The  artist  lays 


CHU  HSI  231 

upon  his  paper  a  flat  wash  of  colour  to  match  the  com- 
plexion of  his  sitter,  and  upon  this  draws  a  mere  map  of 
the  features,  making  no  attempt  to  obtain  roundness  or 
relief  by  depicting  light  and  shadows,  and  never  by  any 
chance  conveying  the  slightest  suggestion  of  animation 
or  expression."  Chu  Hsi  gave  the  artist  a  glowing 
testimonial,  in  which  he  states  that  the  latter  not  merely 
portrays  the  features,  but  "  catches  the  very  expression, 
and  reproduces,  as  it  were,  the  inmost  mind  of  his 
model."  He  then  adds  the  following  personal  tit-bit : — 

"  I  myself  sat  for  two  portraits,  one  large  and  the 
other  small  ;  and  it  was  quite  a  joke  to  see  how  ac- 
curately he  reproduced  my  coarse  ugly  face  and  my 
vulgar  rustic  turn  of  mind,  so  that  even  those  who  had 
only  heard  of,  but  had  never  seen  me,  knew  at  once  for 
whom  the  portraits  were  intended."  It  would  be  inter- 
esting to  know  if  either  of  these  pictures  still  survives 
among  the  Chu  family  heirlooms. 

At  the  death  of  Chu  Hsi,  his  coffin  is  said  to  have 
taken  up  a  position,  suspended  in  the  air,  about  three 
feet  from  the  ground.  Whereupon  his  son-in-law, 
falling  on  his  knees  beside  the  bier,  reminded  the 
departed  spirit  of  the  great  principles  of  which  he  had 
been  such  a  brilliant  exponent  in  life, — and  the  coffin 
descended  gently  to  the  ground. 


CHAPTER    III 
POETRY 

THE  poetry  of  the  Sungs  has  not  attracted  so  much 
attention  as  that  of  the  T'angs.  This  is  chiefly  due  to 
the  fact  that  although  all  the  literary  men  of  the  Sung 
dynasty  may  roughly  be  said  to  have  contributed  their 
quota  of  verse,  still  there  were  few,  if  any,  who  could 
be  ranked  as  professional  poets,  that  is,  as  writers  of 
verse  and  of  nothing  else,  like  Li  Po,  Tu  Fu,  and  many 
others  under  the  T'ang  dynasty.  Poetry  now  began  to  be, 
what  it  has  remained  in  a  marked  degree  until  the  pre- 
sent day,  a  department  of  polite  education,  irrespective  of 
the  particle  of  the  divine  gale.  More  regard  was  paid 
to  form,  and  the  license  which  had  been  accorded  to 
earlier  masters  was  sacrificed  to  conventionality.  The 
Odes  collected  by  Confucius  are,  as  we  have  seen,  rude 
ballads  of  love,  and  war,  and  tilth,  borne  by  their  very 
simplicity  direct  to  the  human  heart.  The  poetry  of  the 
T'ang  dynasty  shows  a  masterly  combination,  in  which 
art,  unseen,  is  employed  to  enhance,  not  to  fetter  and 
degrade,  thoughts  drawn  from  a  veritable  communion 
with  nature.  With  the  fall  of  the  T'ang  dynasty  the 
poetic  art  suffered  a  lapse  from  which  it  has  never 
recovered  ;  and  now,  in  modern  times,  although  every 
student  "  can  turn  a  verse  "  because  he  has  been  "  duly 


CH'£N  TUAN  233 

taught,"   the    poems  produced  disclose  a  naked  artifi- 
ciality which  leaves  the  reader  disappointed  and  cold. 

The  poet  CH'EN  T'UAN  (d.  A.D.  989)  began  life  under 
favourable  auspices.  He  was  suckled  by  a  mysterious 
lady  in  a  green  robe,  who  found  him  playing  as  a  tiny 
child  on  the  bank  of  a  river.  He  became,  in  consequence 
of  this  supernatural  nourishment,  exceedingly  clever  and 
possessed  of  a  prodigious  memory,  with  a  happy  knack 
for  verse.  Yet  he  failed  to  get  a  degree,  and  gave  him- 
self up  "to  the  joys  of  hill  and  stream."  While  on 
the  mountains  some  spiritual  beings  are  said  to  have 
taught  him  the  art  of  hibernating  like  an  animal,  so 
that  he  would  go  off  to  sleep  for  a  hundred  days  at  a 
time.  He  wrote  a  treatise  on  the  elixir  of  life,  and  was 
generally  inclined  to  Taoist  notions.  At  death  his  body 
remained  warm  for  seven  days,  and  for  a  whole  month  a 
"  glory  "  played  around  his  tomb.  He  was  summoned 
several  times  to  Court,  but  to  judge  by  the  following 
poem,  officialdom  seems  to  have  had  few  charms  for 
him  : — 

"  For  ten  long  years  I  plodded  through 

the  vale  of  lust  and  strife, 
Then  through  my  dreams  there  flashed  a  ray 

of  the  old  sweet  peaceful  life.  .  .  . 
No  scarlet-tasselled  hat  of  state 

can  vie  with  soft  repose ; 
Grand  mansions  do  not  taste  the  joys 

that  the  poor  man's  cabin  knows. 
I  hate  the  threatening  clash  of  arms 

when  fierce  retainers  throng^ 
I  loathe  the  drunkard's  revels  and 

the  sound  of  fife  and  song  • 
But  I  love  to  seek  a  quiet  nook,  and 

some  old  volume  bring 
Where  I  can  see  the  wild  flowers  bloom 

and  hear  the  birds  in  spring* 


234  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

Another  poet,  YANG  I  (974-1030),  was  unable  to  speak 
as  a  child,  until  one  day,  being  taken  to  the  top  of  a 
pagoda,  he  suddenly  burst  out  with  the  following  lines: — 

"  Upon  this  tall pagoda 's  peak 

My  hand  can  nigh  the  stars  enclose; 
I  dare  not  raise  my  voice  to  speak. 
For  fear  of  startling  God's  repose" 

Mention  has  already  been  made  of  SHAO  YUNG  (1011- 
1077)  *n  connection  with  Chu  Hsi  and  classical  scholar- 
ship. He  was  a  great  traveller,  and  an  enthusiast  in 
the  cause  of  learning.  He  denied  himself  a  stove  in 
winter  and  a  fan  in  summer.  For  thirty  years  he  did  not 
use  a  pillow,  nor  had  he  even  a  mat  to  sleep  on.  The 
following  specimen  of  his  verse  seems,  however,  to  belie 
his  character  £s  an  ascetic : — 

"  Fair  flowers  from  above  in  my  goblet  are  shining, 
And  add  by  reflection  an  infinite  zest; 
Through  two  generations  I've  lived  unrepining, 
IVhilefour  mighty  rulers  have  sunk  to  their  rest. 

"  My  body  in  health  has  done  nothing  to  spite  me, 
And  sweet  are  the  moments  which  pass  rfer  my  head; 
But  now,  with  this  wine  and  these  flowers  to  delight  me, 
How  shall  I  keep  sober  and  get  home  to  bed?  " 

Shao  Yung  was  a  great  authority  on  natural  pheno- 
mena, the  explanation  of  which  he  deduced  from  prin- 
ciples found  in  the  Book  of  Changes.  On  one  occasion 
he  was  strolling  about  with  some  friends  when  he  heard 
the  goatsucker's  cry.  He  immediately  became  depressed, 
and  said,  "When  good  government  is  about  to  prevail, 
the  magnetic  current  flows  from  north  to  south  ;  when 
bad  government  is  about  to  prevail,  it  flows  from  south 
to  north,  and  birds  feel  its  influence  first  of  all  things. 
Now  hitherto  this  bird  has  not  been  seen  at  Lo-yang ; 


WANG  AN-SHIH  235 

from  which  I  infer  that  the  magnetic  current  is  flowing 
from  south  to  north,  and  that  some  southerner  is  coming 
into  power,  with  manifold  consequences  to  the  State." 
The  subsequent  appearance  of  Wang  An-shih  was  re- 
garded as  a  verification  of  his  skill. 

The  great  reformer  here  mentioned  found  time,  amid 
the  cares  of  his  economic  revolution,  to  indulge  in 
poetical  composition.  Here  is  his  account  of  a  nuit 
blanche,  an  excellent  example  of  the  difficult  "stop- 
short  :  "— 

"  The  incense-stick  is  burnt  to  ash, 

the  water-clock  is  stilled. 
The  midnight  breeze  blows  sharply  fiy, 
and  all  around  is  chilled. 

"  Vet  I  am  kept  from  slumber 

by  the  beauty  of  the  spring  .  .  . 
Sweet  shapes  of  flowers  across  the  blind 

the  quivering  moonbeams  fling  /" 

Here,  too,  is  a  short  poem  by  the  classical  scholar, 
Huang  Ting-chien,  written  on  the  annual  visit  for  wor- 
ship at  the  tombs  of  ancestors,  in  full  view  of  the  hillside 
cemetery  : — 

"  The  peach  and  plum  trees  smile  with  flowers 

this  famous  day  of  spring, 
And  country  graveyards  round  about 

with  lamentations  ring. 
Thunder  has  startled  insect  life 

and  roused  the  gnats  and  bees, 
A  gentle  rain  has  urged  the  crops 

and  soothed  the  flowers  and  trees.  .  .  . 
Perhaps  on  this  side  lie  the  bones 

of  a  wretch  whom  no  one  knows; 
On  that,  the  sacred  asiies 

of  a  patriot  repose. 


236  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

But  who  across  the  centuries 

can  hope  to  mark  each  spot 

Where  fool  and  hero,  joined  in  death, 
beneath  the  brambles  rotfn 

The  grave  student  Ch'eng  Hao  wrote  verses  like  the 
rest.  Sometimes  he  even  condescended  to  jest : — 

"  I  wander  north,  I  wander  south, 

I  rest  me  where  I  please.  .  .  . 
See  how  the  river-banks  are  nipped 

beneath  the  autumn  breeze  ! 
Yet  what  care  I  if  autumn  blasts 

the  river-banks  lay  bare  f 
The  loss  of  hue  to  river-banks 

is  the  river-banks'  affair." 

In  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries  HUNG  CHUEH- 
FAN  made  a  name  for  himself  as  a  poet  and  calligraphist, 
but  he  finally  yielded  to  the  fascination  of  Buddhism 
and  took  orders  as  a  priest.  This  is  no  trifling  ordeal. 
From  three  to  nine  pastilles  are  placed  upon  the 
shaven  scalp  of  the  candidate,  and  are  allowed  to  burn 
down  into  the  flesh,  leaving  an  indelible  scar.  Here 
is  a  poem  by  him,  written  probably  before  monasticism 
had  damped  his  natural  ardour  : — 

"  Two  green  silk  ropes,  with  painted  stand, 

from  heights  aerial  swing, 
And  there  outside  the  house  a  maid 

disports  herself  in  spring. 
Along  the  ground  her  blood-red  skirts 

all  swiftly  swishing  fly, 
As  though  to  bear  her  off  to  be 

an  angel  in  the  sky. 
Strewed  thick  with  fluttering  almond-blooms 

the  painted  stand  is  seen; 
The  embroidered  ropes  flit  to  and  fro 

amid  the  willow  green. 


YEH  SHIH— KAO  CH0-NIEN  237 

Then  "when  she  stops  and  out  she  springs 

to  stand  with  downcast  eyes, 
You  think  she  is  some  angel 

just  now  banished  from  the  sh'es." 

Better  known  as  a  statesman  than  as  a  poet  is  YEH 
SHIH  (1150-1223).  The  following  "stop-short,"  how- 
ever, referring  to  the  entrance-gate  to  a  beautiful  park, 
is  ranked  among  the  best  of  its  kind : — 

"'Tis  closed! — lest  trampling  footsteps  mar 

the  glory  of  the  green. 
Time  after  time  we  knock  and  knock; 

no  janitor  is  seen. 
Yet  bolts  and  bars  can't  quite  shut  in 

the  spring- time* s  beauteous  pall : 
A  fink-flowered  almond-spray  peeps  out 

athwart  the  envious  wall!  " 

Of  KAO  CHU-NIEN  nothing  seems  to  be  known. 
His  poem  on  the  annual  spring  worship  at  the  tombs 
of  ancestors  is  to  be  found  in  all  collections : — 

"  The  northern  and  the  southern  hills 

are  one  large  burying-ground, 
And  all  is  life  and  bustle  there 

when  the  sacred  day  comes  round. 
Burnt  paper  cash,  like  butterflies, 

fly  fluttering  far  and  wide, 
While  mourners1  robes  with  tears  of  blood 

a  crimson  hue  are  dyed. 
The  sun  sets,  and  the  red  fox  crouches 

down  beside  the  tomb; 
Night  comes,  and  youths  and  maidens  laugh 

where  lamps  light  up  the  gloom. 
Let  him  whose  fortune  brings  him  wine, 

get  tipsy  while  he  may, 
For  no  man,  when  the  long  night  coma% 

can  take  one  drop  away  I" 


CHAPTER    IV 

DICTIONARIES— ENCYCLOPAEDIAS— MEDICAL 
JURISPRUDENCE 

SEVERAL  dictionaries  of  importance  were  issued  by 
various  scholars  during  the  Sung  dynasty,  not  to 
mention  many  philological  works  of  more  or  less 
value.  The  Chinese  have  always  been  students  of 
their  own  language,  partly,  no  doubt,  because  they 
have  so  far  never  condescended  to  look  at  any  other. 
They  delight  in  going  back  to  days  when  correspon- 
dence was  carried  on  by  pictures  pure  and  simple ; 
and  the  fact  that  there  is  little  evidence  forthcoming 
that  such  a  system  ever  prevailed  has  only  resulted 
in  stimulating  invention  and  forgery. 

A  clever  courtier,  popularly  known  as  "  the  nine-tailed 
fox,"  was  CH'EN  P'ENG-NIEN  (A.D.  961-1017),  who  rose 
to  be  a  Minister  of  State.  He  was  employed  to  revise 
the  Kuang  Yun,  a  phonetic  dictionary  by  some  unknown 
author,  which  contained  over  26,000  separate  characters. 
This  work  was  to  a  great  extent  superseded  by  the  Chi 
Yun,  on  a  similar  plan,  but  containing  over  53,000 
characters.  The  latter  was  produced  by  Sung  Ch'i, 
mentioned  in  chap,  iii.,  in  conjunction  with  several 
eminent  scholars. 

TAI  TUNG  graduated  in  1237  and  rose  to  be  Governor 

of  T'ai-chou    in  Chehkiang.     Then  the    Mongols  pre- 

238 


WU  SHU— LI  FANG  239 

vailed,  and  Tai  Tung,  unwilling  to  serve  them,  pleaded 
ill-health,  and  in  1275  retired  into  private  life.  There 
he  occupied  himself  with  the  composition  of  the  Liu  Shu 
Ku  of  Six  Scripts,  an  examination  into  the  origin  and 
development  of  writing,  which,  according  to  some,  was 
published  about  A.D.  1250,  but  according  to  others,  not 
until  so  late  as  the  year  1319. 

From  the  rise  of  the  Sung  dynasty  may  be  dated  the 
first  appearance  of  the  encyclopaedia,  destined  to  occupy 
later  so  much  space  in  Chinese  literature.  Wu  SHU  (A.D. 
947-1002),  whose  life  was  a  good  instance  of  "  worth  by 
poverty  depressed,"  may  fairly  be  credited  with  the 
production  of  the  earliest  work  of  the  kind.  His  Shih 
Lei  Fu  dealt  with  celestial  and  terrestrial  phenomena, 
mineralogy,  botany,  and  natural  history,  arranged,  for 
want  of  an  alphabet,  under  categories.  It  is  curiously 
written  in  the  poetical-prose  style,  and  forms  the  foun- 
dation of  a  similar  book  of  reference  in  use  at  the  present 
day.  Wu  Shu  was  placed  upon  the  commission  which 
produced  a  much  more  extensive  work  known  as  the 
Tai  P^ing  Yu  Lan.  At  the  head  of  that  commission  was 
Li  FANG  (A.D.  924-995),  a  Minister  of  State  and  a  great 
favourite  with  the  Emperor.  In  the  last  year  of  his  life 
he  was  invited  to  witness  the  Feast  of  Lanterns  from  the 
palace.  On  that  occasion  the  Emperor  placed  Li  beside 
him,  and  after  pouring  out  for  him  a  goblet  of  wine  and 
supplying  him  with  various  delicacies,  he  turned  to  his 
courtiers  and  said,  "  Li  Fang  has  twice  served  us  as 
Minister  of  State,  yet  has  he  never  in  any  way  injured 
a  single  fellow-creature.  Truly  this  must  be  a  virtuous 
man."  The  T'ai  Pling  Yu  Lan  was  reprinted  in  1812, 
and  is  bound  up  in  thirty-two  large  volumes.  It  was  so 


240  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

named  because  the  Emperor  himself  went  through  all 
the  manuscript,  a  task  which  occupied  him  nearly  a  year. 
A  list  of  about  eight  hundred  authorities  is  given,  and 
the  Index  fills  four  hundred  pages. 

As  a  pendant  to  this  work  Li  Fang  designed  the  T'ai 
Pling  Kuang  Chi,  an  encyclopaedia  of  biographical  and 
other  information  drawn  from  general  literature.  A  list 
of  about  three  hundred  and  sixty  authorities  is  given, 
and  the  Index  fills  two  hundred  and  eighty  pages.  The 
edition  of  1566 — a  rare  work — bound  up  in  twelve  thick 
volumes,  stands  upon  the  shelves  of  the  Cambridge 
University  Library. 

Another  encyclopaedist  was  MA  TUAN-LIN,  the  son  of  a 
high  official,  in  whose  steps  he  prepared  to  follow.  The 
dates  of  his  birth  and  death  are  not  known,  but  he 
flourished  in  the  thirteenth  century.  Upon  the  collapse 
of  the  Sung  dynasty  he  disappeared  from  public  life, 
and  taking  refuge  in  his  native  place,  he  gave  himself 
up  to  teaching,  attracting  many  disciples  from  far  and 
near,  and  fascinating  all  by  his  untiring  dialectic  skill. 
He  left  behind  him  the  Wen  Hsien  T*ung  Klao,  a  large 
encyclopaedia  based  upon  the  T'ung  Tien  of  Tu  Yu, 
but  much  enlarged  and  supplemented  by  five  additional 
sections,  namely,  Bibliography,  Imperial  Lineage,  Ap- 
pointments, Uranography,  and  Natural  Phenomena. 
This  work,  which  cost  its  author  twenty  years  of  unre- 
mitting labour,  has  long  been  known  to  Europeans, 
who  have  drawn  largely  upon  its  ample  stores  of  anti- 
quarian research. 

At  the  close  of  the  Sung  dynasty  there  was  published 
a  curious  book  on  Medical  Jurisprudence,  which  is 


THE  HSI  YtfAN  LU  241 

interesting,  in  spite  of  its  manifold  absurdities,  as  being 
the  recognised  handbook  for  official  use  at  the  present 
day.  No  magistrate  ever  thinks  of  proceeding  to  dis- 
charge the  duties  of  coroner  without  taking  a  copy  of 
these  instructions  along  with  him.  The  present  work 
was  compiled  by  a  judge  named  Sung  Tz'u,  from  pre- 
existing works  of  a  similar  kind,  and  we  are  told  in  the 
preface  of  a  fine  edition,  dated  1842,  that  "  being  sub- 
jected for  many  generations  to  practical  tests  by  the 
officers  of  the  Board  of  Punishments,  it  became  daily 
more  and  more  exact."  A  few  extracts  will  be  sufficient 
to  determine  its  real  value  : — 

(i.)  "  Man  has  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  bones,  cor- 
responding to  the  number  of  days  it  takes  the  heavens 
to  revolve. 

"  The  skull  of  a  male,  from  the  nape  of  the  neck  to  the 
top  of  the  head,  consists  of  eight  pieces — of  a  Ts'ai-chou 
man,  nine.  There  is  a  horizontal  suture  across  the  back 
of  the  skull,  and  a  perpendicular  one  down  the  middle. 
Female  skulls  are  of  six  pieces,  and  have  the  horizontal 
but  not  the  perpendicular  suture. 

"Teeth  are  twenty-four,  twenty-eight,  thirty-two,  or 
thirty-six  in  number.  There  are  three  long-shaped  breast- 
bones. 

"There  is  one  bone  belonging  to  the  heart  of  the 
shape  and  size  of  a  cash. 

"  There  is  one  '  shoulder- well '  bone  and  one  '  rice- 
spoon  '  bone  on  each  side. 

"  Males  have  twelve  ribs  on  each  side,  eight  long  and 
four  short.  Females  have  fourteen  on  each  side." 

(2.)  "Wounds  inflicted  on  the  bone  leave  a  red  mark 
and  a  slight  appearance  of  saturation,  and  where  the  bone 
is  broken  there  will  be  at  each  end  a  halo-like  trace  of 


242  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

blood.  Take  a  bone  on  which  there  are  marks  of  a 
wound,  and  hold  it  up  to  the  light ;  if  these  are  of  a 
fresh-looking  red,  the  wound  was  inflicted  before  death 
and  penetrated  to  the  bone ;  but  if  there  is  no  trace  of 
saturation  from  blood,  although  there  is  a  wound,  it  was 
inflicted  after  death." 

(3.)  "  The  bones  of  parents  may  be  identified  by  their 
children  in  the  following  manner.  Let  the  experimenter 
cut  himself  or  herself  with  a  knife,  and  cause  the  blood  to 
drip  on  to  the  bones ;  then  if  the  relationship  is  an  actual 
fact,  the  blood  will  sink  into  the  bone,  otherwise  it  will 
not.  N.B. — Should  the  bones  have  been  washed  with  salt 
water,  even  though  the  relationship  exists,  yet  the  blood 
will  not  soak  in.  This  is  a  trick  to  be  guarded  against 
beforehand. 

"  It  is  also  said  that  if  parent  and  child,  or  husband 
and  wife,  each  cut  themselves  and  let  the  blood  drip  into 
a  basin  of  water,  the  two  bloods  will  mix,  whereas  that  of 
two  people  not  thus  related  will  not  mix. 

"  Where  two  brothers,  who  may  have  been  separated 
since  childhood,  are  desirous  of  establishing  their  identity 
as  such,  but  are  unable  to  do  so  by  ordinary  means,  bid 
each  one  cut  himself  and  let  the  blood  drip  into  a  basin. 
If  they  are  really  brothers,  the  two  bloods  will  coagu- 
late into  one ;  otherwise  not.  But  because  fresh  blood 
will  always  coagulate  with  the  aid  of  a  little  salt  or 
vinegar,  people  often  smear  the  basin  over  with  these 
to  attain  their  own  ends  and  deceive  others ;  therefore 
always  wash  out  the  basin  you  are  going  to  use,  or  buy 
a  new  one  from  a  shop.  Thus  the  trick  will  be  defeated." 

(4.)  "  There  are  some  atrocious  villains  who,  when 
they  have  murdered  any  one,  burn  the  body  and  throw 
the  ashes  away,  so  that  there  are  no  bones  to  examine. 


THE  HSI  YttAN  LU  243 

In  such  cases  you  must  carefully  find  out  at  what  time 
the  murder  was  committed,  and  where  the  body  was 
burnt.  Then,  when  you  know  the  place,  all  witnesses 
agreeing  on  this  point,  you  may  proceed  without  further 
delay  to  examine  the  wounds.  The  mode  of  procedure 
is  this.  Put  up  your  shed  near  where  the  body  was 
burnt,  and  make  the  accused  and  witnesses  point  out 
themselves  the  exact  spot.  Then  cut  down  the  grass  and 
weeds  growing  on  this  spot,  and  burn  large  quantities  of 
fuel  till  the  place  is  extremely  hot,  throwing  on  several 
pecks  of  hemp-seed.  By  and  by  brush  the  place  clean  ; 
then,  if  the  body  was  actually  burnt  on  this  spot,  the  oil 
from  the  seed  will  be  found  to  have  sunk  into  the  ground 
in  the  form  of  a  human  figure,  and  wherever  there  were 
wounds  on  the  dead  man,  there  on  this  figure  the  cil 
will  be  found  to  have  collected  together,  large  or  small, 
square,  round,  long,  short,  oblique,  or  straight,  exactly  as 
they  were  inflicted.  The  parts  where  there  were  no 
wounds  will  be  free  from  any  such  appearances." 


BOOK    THE    SIXTH 
THE  MONGOL  DYNASTY  (A.D.  1200-1368) 


BOOK  THE  SIXTH 
THE  MONGOL  DYNASTY  (A.D.  1200-1368) 

CHAPTER   I 

MISCELLANEOUS  LITERATURE— POETRY 

THE  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries  witnessed  a 
remarkable  political  revolution.  China  was  conquered 
by  the  Mongols,  and  for  the  first  time  in  history  the 
empire  passed  under  the  rule  of  an  alien  sovereign.  No 
exact  date  can  be  assigned  for  the  transference  of  the 
Imperial  power.  In  1264  Kublai  Khan  fixed  his  capital 
at  Peking,  and  in  1271  he  adopted  Yuan  as  his  dynastic 
style.  It  was  not,  however,  until  1279  that  the  patriot 
statesman,  Chao  Ping,  had  his  retreat  cut  off,  and  de- 
spairing of  his  country,  took  upon  his  back  the  boy- 
Emperor,  the  last  of  the  Sungs,  and  jumped  from  his 
doomed  vessel  into  the  river,  thus  bringing  the  great  fire- 
led  dynasty  to  an  end. 

Kublai  Khan,  who  was  a  confirmed  Buddhist,  paid 
great  honour  to  Confucius,  and  was  a  steady  patron  of 
literature.  In  1269  he  caused  Bashpa,  a  Tibetan  priest, 
to  construct  an  alphabet  for  the  Mongol  language  ;  in 
1280  the  calendar  was  revised;  and  in  1287  the  Impe- 


248  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

rial  Academy  was  opened.  But  he  could  not  forgive 
WEN  T'iE\7-HSiANG  (1236-1283),  the  renowned  patriot  and 
scholar,  who  had  fought  so  bravely  but  unsuccessfully 
against  him.  In  1279  the  latter  was  conveyed  to  Peking, 
on  which  journey  he  passed  eight  days  without  eating. 
Every  effort  was  made  to  induce  him  to  own  allegiance 
to  the  Mongol  Emperor,  but  without  success.  He  was 
kept  in  prison  for  three  years.  At  length  he  was  sum- 
moned into  the  presence  of  Kublai  Khan,  who  said  to 
him,  "  What  is  it  you  want  ?  "  "  By  the  grace  of  the 
Sung  Emperor,"  Wen  Tien-hsiang  replied,  "  I  became  his 
Majesty's  Minister.  I  cannot  serve  two  masters.  I  only 
ask  to  die."  Accordingly  he  was  executed,  meeting  his 
death  with  composure,  and  making  a  final  obeisance 
southwards,  as  though  his  own  sovereign  was  still  reign- 
ing in  his  own  capital.  The  following  poem  was  written 
by  Wen  T'ien-hsiang  while  in  captivity  : — 

"  There  is  in  the  universe  an  Aura  which  permeates  all 
things  and  makes  them  what  they  are.  Below,  it  shapes 
forth  land  and  water  ;  above,  the  sun  and  the  stars.  In 
man  it  is  called  spirit ;  and  there  is  nowhere  where  it  is 
not. 

"  In  times  of  national  tranquillity  this  spirit  lies  perdu  in 
the  harmony  which  prevails  ;  only  at  some  great  crisis 
is  it  manifested  widely  abroad." 

[Here  follow  ten  historical  instances  of  devotion  and 
heroism.] 

"  Such  is  this  grand  and  glorious  spirit  which  endureth 
for  all  generations,  and  which,  linked  with  the  sun  and 
the  moon,  knows  neither  beginning  nor  end.  The  foun- 
dation of  all  that  is  great  and  good  in  heaven  and  earth, 
it  is  itself  born  from  the  everlasting  obligations  which 
are  due  by  man  to  man. 


W&N  TIEN-HSIANG  249 

"  Alas  !  the  fates  were  against  me.  I  was  without 
resource.  Bound  with  fetters,  hurried  away  towards 
the  north,  death  would  have  been  sweet  indeed ;  but 
that  boon  was  refused. 

"  My  dungeon  is  lighted  by  the  will-o'-the-wisp  alone  ; 
no  breath  of  spring  cheers  the  murky  solitude  in  which 
I  dwell.  The  ox  and  the  barb  herd  together  in  one 
stall,  the  rooster  and  the  phoenix  feed  together  from  one 
dish.  Exposed  to  mist  and  dew,  I  had  many  times 
thought  to  die  ;  and  yet,  through  the  seasons  of  two 
revolving  years,  disease  hovered  round  me  in  vain.  The 
dank,  unhealthy  soil  to  me  became  paradise  itself.  For 
there  was  that  within  me  which  misfortune  could  not 
steal  away.  And  so  I  remained  firm,  gazing  at  the  white 
clouds  floating  over  my  head,  and  bearing  in  my  heart 
a  sorrow  boundless  as  the  sky. 

"The  sun  of  those  dead  heroes  has  long  since  set,  but 
their  record  is  before  me  still.  And,  while  the  wind 
whistles  under  the  eaves,  I  open  my  books  and  read ; 
and  lo  !  in  their  presence  my  heart  glows  with  a  bor- 
rowed fire." 

"  I  myself,"  adds  the  famous  commentator,  Lin  Hsi- 
chung,  of  the  seventeenth  century,  "  in  consequence  of  the 
rebellion  in  Fuhkien,  lay  in  prison  for  two  years,  while 
deadly  disease  raged  around.  Daily  I  recited  this  poem 
several  times  over,  and  happily  escaped  ;  from  which  it 
is  clear  that  the  supremest  efforts  in  literature  move  even 
the  gods,  and  that  it  is  not  the  verses  of  Tu  Fu  alone 
which  can  prevail  against  malarial  fever." 

At  the  final  examination  for  his  degree  in  1256,  Wen 
Tien-hsiang  had  been  placed  seventh  on  the  list.  How- 
ever, the  then  Emperor,  on  looking  over  the  papers  of 
the  candidates  before  the  result  was  announced,  was 


250  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

immensely  struck  by  his  work,  and  sent  for  the  grand 
examiner  to  reconsider  the  order  of  merit.  "This 
essay,"  said  his  Majesty,  "  shows  us  the  moral  code  of 
the  ancients  as  in  a  mirror ;  it  betokens  a  loyalty  en- 
during as  iron  and  stone."  The  grand  examiner  readily 
admitted  the  justice  of  the  Emperor's  criticism,  and 
when  the  list  was  published,  the  name  of  Wen  T'ien- 
hsiang  stood  first.  The  fame  of  that  examiner,  WANG 
YlNG-LlN  (1223-1296),  is  likely  to  last  for  a  long  time  to 
come.  Not  because  of  his  association  with  one  of 
China's  greatest  patriots,  nor  because  of  his  voluminous 
contributions  to  classical  literature,  including  an  exten- 
sive encyclopaedia,  a  rare  copy  of  which  is  to  be  seen  in 
the  University  of  Leyden,  but  because  of  a  small  primer 
for  schoolboys,  which,  by  almost  universal  consent,  is 
attributed  to  his  pen.  For  six  hundred  years  this 
primer  has  been,  and  is  still  at  this  moment,  the  first 
book  put  into  the  hand  of  every  child  throughout  the 
empire.  It  is  an  epitome  of  all  knowledge,  dealing 
with  philosophy,  classical  literature,  history,  biography, 
and  common  objects.  It  has  been  called  a  sleeve 
edition  of  the  Mirror  of  History.  Written  in  lines 
of  three  characters  to  each,  and  being  in  doggerel 
rhyme,  it  is  easily  committed  to  memory,  and  is  known 
by  heart  by  every  Chinaman  who  has  learnt  to  read. 
This  Three  Character  Classic,  as  it  is  called,  has  been  imi- 
tated by  Christian  missionaries,  Protestant  and  Catholic  ; 
and  even  the  T'ai-p'ing  rebels,  alive  to  its  far-reaching  in- 
fluence, published  an  imitation  of  their  own.  Here  are 
a  few  specimen  lines,  rhymed  to  match  the  original  : — 

"  Men,  one  and  a//,  in  infancy 
Are  "virtuous  at  heart ; 
Their  moral  tendencies  the  same, 
Their  practice  wide  apart. 


LIU  YIN       •  251 

Without  instruction's  kindly  aid 
Man's  nature  grows  less  fair  ; 
In  teaching,  thoroughness  should  be 
A  never-ceasing  care." 

It  may  be  added  that  the  meaning  of  the  Three 
Character  Classic  is  not  explained  to  the  child  at  the 
time.  All  that  the  latter  has  to  do  is  to  learn  the  sounds 
and  formation  of  the  560  different  characters  of  which 
the  book  is  composed. 

A  clever  boy,  who  attracted  much  attention  by 
the  filial  piety  which  he  displayed  towards  his  step- 
father, was  Liu  YIN  (1241-1293).  He  obtained  office, 
but  resigned  in  order  to  tend  his  sick  mother ;  and 
when  again  appointed,  his  health  broke  down  and  he 
went  into  seclusion.  The  following  extract  is  from  his 
pen  : — 

"  When  God  made  man,  He  gave  him  powers  to  cope 
with  the  exigencies  of  his  environment,  and  resources 
within  himself,  so  that  he  need  not  be  dependent  upon 
external  circumstances. 

"Thus,  in  districts  where  poisons  abound,  antidotes 
abound  also  ;  and  in  others,  where  malaria  prevails,  we 
find  such  correctives  as  ginger,  nutmegs,  and  dogwood. 
Again,  fish,  terrapins,  and  clams  are  the  most  whole- 
some articles  of  diet  in  excessively  damp  climates, 
though  themselves  denizens  of  the  water ;  and  musk 
and  deer-horns  are  excellent  prophylactics  in  earthy 
climates,  where  in  fact  they  are  produced.  For  if  these 
things  were  unable  to  prevail  against  their  surroundings, 
they  could  not  possibly  thrive  where  they  do,  while  the 
fact  that  they  do  so  thrive  is  proof  positive  that  they 
were  ordaii>ed  as  specifics  against  those  surroundings. 


252  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

"  Chu  Hsi  said,  'When  God  is  about  to  send  down 
calamities  upon  us,  He  first  raises  up  the  hero  whose 
genius  shall  finally  prevail  against  those  calamities.' 
From  this  point  of  view  there  can  be  no  living  man 
without  his  appointed  use,  nor  any  state  of  society 
which  man  should  be  unable  to  put  right." 

The  theory  that  every  man  plays  his  allotted  part  in 
the  cosmos  is  a  favourite  one  with  the  Chinese  ;  and  the 
process  by  which  the  tares  are  separated  from  the 
wheat,  exemplifying  the  use  of  adversity,  has  been 
curiously  stated  by  a  Buddhist  priest  of  this  date  : — 

"  If  one  is  a  man,  the  mills  of  heaven  and  earth  grind 
him  to  perfection  ;  if  not,  to  destruction." 

A  considerable  amount  of  poetry  was  produced  under 
the  Mongol  sway,  though  not  so  much  proportionately, 
nor  of  such  a  high  order,  as  under  the  great  native 
dynasties.  The  Emperor  Ch'ien  Lung  published  in  1787  a 
collection  of  specimens  of  the  poetry  of  this  Yuan  dynasty. 
They  fill  eight  large  volumes,  but  are  not  much  read. 

One  of  the  best  known  poets  of  this  period  is  Liu 
CHI  (A.D.  1311-1375),  who  was  also  deeply  read  in  the 
Classics  and  also  a  student  of  astrology.  He  lived 
into  the  Ming  dynasty,  which  he  helped  to  establish,  and 
was  for  some  years  the  trusted  adviser  of  its  first  ruler. 
He  lost  favour,  however,  and  was  poisoned  by  a  rival,  it 
is  said,  with  the  Emperor's  connivance.  The  following 
lines,  referring  to  an  early  visit  to  a  mountain  monastery, 
reveal  a  certain  sympathy  with  Buddhism  : — 

"  /  mounted  when  the  cock  had  just  begun, 
And  reached  (he  convent  ere  the  bells  were  done  ; 
A  gentle  zephyr  whispered  o'er  the  lawn  ; 
Behind  the  -wood  the  moon  gave  way  to  dawn. 


LIU  CHI  253 

And  in  this  pure  sweet  solitude  I  toy, 
Stretching  my  limbs  out  to  await  the  day, 
No  sound  along  the  willow  pathway  dim 
Save  the  soft  echo  of  the  bonze?  hymn" 

Here  too  is  an  oft-quoted  stanza,  to  be  found  in  any 
poetry  primer  : — 

"  A  centenarian  'mongst  men 
Is  rare ;  and  if  one  comes,  what  then  f 
The  mightiest  heroes  of  the  past 
Upon  the  hillside  sleep  at  last? 

The  prose  writings  of  Liu  Chi  are  much  admired  for 
their  pure  style,  which  has  been  said  to  "  smell  of 
antiquity."  One  piece  tells  how  a  certain  noble  who 
had  lost  all  by  the  fall  of  the  Chun  dynasty,  B.C.  206, 
and  was  forced  to  grow  melons  for  a  living,  had  recourse 
to  divination,  and  went  to  consult  a  famous  augur  on 
his  prospects. 

"  Alas  !  "  cried  the  augur,  "  what  is  there  that  Heaven 
can  bestow  save  that  which  virtue  can  obtain  ?  Where 
is  the  efficacy  of  spiritual  beings  beyond  that  with  which 
man  has  endowed  them  ?  The  divining  plant  is  but  a 
dead  stalk  ;  the  tortoise-shell  a  dry  bone.  They  are  but 
matter  like  ourselves.  And  man,  the  divinest  of  all 
things,  why  does  he  not  seek  wisdom  from  within,  rather 
than  from  these  grosser  stuffs  ? 

"  Besides,  sir,  why  not  reflect  upon  the  past — that  past 
which  gave  birth  to  this  present  ?  Your  cracked  roof 
and  crumbling  walls  of  to-day  are  but  the  complement 
of  yesterday's  lofty  towers  and  spacious  halls.  The 
straggling  bramble  is  but  the  complement  of  the  shapely 
garden  tree.  The  grasshopper  and  the  cicada  are  but 
the  complement  of  organs  and  flutes  ;  the  will-o'-the- 
wisp  and  firefly,  of  gilded  lamps  and  painted  candles. 


254  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

Your  endive  and  watercresses  are  but  the  complement 
of  the  elephant-sinews  and  camel's  hump  of  days  by- 
gone ;  the  maple-leaf  and  the  rush,  of  your  once  rich 
robes  and  fine  attire.  Do  not  repine  that  those  who  had 
not  such  luxuries  then  enjoy  them  now.  Do  not  be 
dissatisfied  that  you,  who  enjoyed  them  then,  have  them 
now  no  more.  In  the  space  of  a  day  and  night  the 
flower  blooms  and  dies.  Between  spring  and  autumn 
things  perish  and  are  renewed.  Beneath  the  roaring 
cascade  a  deep  pool  is  found ;  dark  valleys  lie  at  the  foot 
of  high  hills.  These  things  you  know ;  what  more  can 
divination  teach  you  ?  " 

Another  piece  is  entitled  "  Outsides,"  and  is  a  light 
satire  on  the  corruption  of  his  day  : — 

"  At  Hangchow  there  lived  a  costermonger  who 
understood  how  to  keep  oranges  a  whole  year  without 
letting  them  spoil.  His  fruit  was  always  fresh-looking, 
firm  as  jade,  and  of  a  beautiful  golden  hue ;  but  inside 
— dry  as  an  old  cocoon. 

"  One  day  I  asked  him,  saying,  '  Are  your  oranges  for 
altar  or  sacrificial  purposes,  or  for  show  at  banquets  ? 
Or  do  you  make  this  outside  display  merely  to  cheat  the 
foolish  ?  as  cheat  them  you  most  outrageously  do.' 
'Sir,'  replied  the  orangeman,  'I  have  carried  on  this 
trade  now  for  many  years.  It  is  my  source  of  livelihood. 
I  sell  ;  the  world  buys.  And  I  have  yet  to  learn  that 
you  are  the  only  honest  man  about,  and  that  I  am  the 
only  cheat.  Perhaps  it  never  struck  you  in  this  light. 
The  baton-bearers  of  to-day,  seated  on  their  tiger  skins, 
pose  as  the  martial  guardians  of  the  State  ;  but  what  are 
they  compared  with  the  captains  of  old  ?  The  broad- 
brimmed,  long-robed  Ministers  of  to-day  pose  as  pillars 
of  the  constitution  ;  but  have  they  the  wisdom  of  our 


LIU  CHI  255 

ancient  counsellors  ?  Evil-doers  arise,  and  none  can 
subdue  them.  The  people  are  in  misery,  and  none  can 
relieve  them.  Clerks  are  corrupt,  and  none  can  restrain 
them.  Laws  decay,  and  none  can  renew  them.  Our 
officials  eat  the  bread  of  the  State  and  know  no  shame. 
They  sit  in  lofty  halls,  ride  fine  steeds,  drink  themselves 
drunk  with  wine,  and  batten  on  the  richest  fare.  Which 
of  them  but  puts  on  an  awe-inspiring  look,  a  dignified 
mien  ? — all  gold  and  gems  without,  but  dry  cocoons 
within.  You  pay,  sir,  no  heed  to  these  things,  while  you 
are  very  particular  about  my  oranges.' 

"  I  had  no  answer  to  make.  Was  he  really  out  of 
conceit  with  the  age,  or  only  quizzing  me  in  defence  of 
his  fruit?" 


CHAPTER   II 

THE  DRAMA 

IF  the  Mongol  dynasty  added  little  of  permanent  value 
to  the  already  vast  masses  01  poetry,  of  general  literature, 
and  of  classical  exegesis,  it  will  ever  be  remembered  in 
connection  with  two  important  departures  in  the  literary 
history  of  the  nation.  Within  the  century  covered  by 
Mongol  rule  the  Drama  and  the  Novel  may  be  said  to 
have  come  into  existence.  Going  back  to  pre-Confucian 
or  legendary  days,  we  find  that  from  time  immemorial 
the  Chinese  have  danced  set  dances  in  time  to  music  on 
solemn  or  festive  occasions  of  sacrifice  or  ceremony. 
Thus  we  read  in  the  Odes : — 

"  Lightly,  sprightly, 

To  the  dance  I  go, 
The  sun  shining  brightly 
In  the  court  below" 

The  movements  of  the  dancers  were  methodical,  slow, 
and  dignified.  Long  feathers  and  flutes  were  held  in  the 
hand  and  were  waved  to  and  fro  as  the  performers 
moved  right  or  left.  Words  to  be  sung  were  added,  and 
then  gradually  the  music  and  singing  prevailed  over  the 
dance,  gesture  being  substituted.  The  result  was  rather 
an  operatic  than  a  dramatic  performance,  and  the  words 
sung  were  more  of  the  nature  of  songs  than  of  musical 

plays.       In    the    Tso    Ckuan,    under    B.C.   545,    we   read 

256 


THE  DRAMA  257 

of  an  atnateur  attempt  of  the  kind,  organised  by  stable- 
boys,  which  frightened  their  horses  and  caused  a  stam- 
pede. Confucius,  too,  mentions  the  arrogance  of  a 
noble  who  employed  in  his  ancestral  temple  the  number 
of  singers  reserved  for  the  Son  of  Heaven  alone.  It  is 
hardly  necessary  to  allude  to  the  exorcism  of  evil  spirits, 
carried  out  three  times  a  year  by  officials  dressed  up  in 
bearskins  and  armed  with  spear  and  shield,  who  made  a 
house  to  house  visitation  surrounded  by  a  shouting  and 
excited  populace.  It  is  only  mentioned  here  because 
some  writers  have  associated  this  practice  with  the  origin 
of  the  drama  in  China.  All  we  really  know  is  that  in 
very  early  ages  music  and  song  and  dance  formed  an 
ordinary  accompaniment  to  religious  and  other  cere- 
monies, and  that  this  continued  for  many  centuries. 

Towards  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century,  A.D., 
the  Emperor  Ming  Huang  of  the  T'ang  dynasty, 
being  exceedingly  fond  of  music,  established  a  College, 
known  as  the  Pear-Garden,  for  training  some  three 
hundred  young  people  of  both  sexes.  There  is  a 
legend  that  this  College  was  the  outcome  of  a  visit  paid 
by  his  Majesty  to  the  moon,  where  he  was  much  im- 
pressed by  a  troup  of  skilled  performers  attached  to  the 
Palace  of  Jade  which  he  found  there.  It  was  apparently 
an  institution  to  provide  instrumentalists,  vocalists,  and 
possibly  dancers,  for  Court  entertainments,  although 
some  have  held  that  the  "youths  of  the  Pear-Garden" 
were  really  actors,  and  the  term  is  still  applied  to  the 
dramatic  fraternity.  Nothing,  however,  which  can  be 
truly  identified  with  the  actor's  art  seems  to  have  been 
known  until  the  thirteenth  century,  when  suddenly  the 
Drama,  as  seen  in  the  modern  Chinese  stage-play,  sprang 
into  being.  In  the  present  limited  state  of  our  know- 


258  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

ledge  on  the  subject,  it  is  impossible  to  say  how  or  why 
this  came  about.  We  cannot  trace  step  by  step  the 
development  of  the  drama  in  China  from  a  purely  choral 
performance,  as  in  Greece.  We  are  simply  confronted 
with  the  accomplished  fact. 

At  the  same  time  we  hear  of  dramatic  performances 
among  the  Tartars  at  a  somewhat  earlier  date.  In  1031 
K'ung  Tao-fu,  a  descendant  of  Confucius  in  the  forty- 
fifth  degree,  was  sent  as  envoy  to  the  Kitans,  and  was 
received  at  a  banquet  with  much  honour.  But  at  a 
theatrical  entertainment  which  followed,  a  piece  was 
played  in  which  his  sacred  ancestor,  Confucius,  was 
introduced  as  the  low-comedy  man  ;  and  this  so  dis- 
gusted him  that  he  got  up  and  withdrew,  the  Kitans 
being  forced  to  apologise.  Altogether,  it  would  seem 
that  the  drama  is  not  indigenous  to  China,  but  may  well 
have  been  introduced  from  Tartar  sources.  However 
this  may  be,  it  is  certain  that  the  drama  as  known  under 
the  Mongols  is  to  all  intents  and  purposes  the  drama  of 
to-day,  and  a  few  general  remarks  may  not  be  out  of  place. 

Plays  are  acted  in  tne  large  cities  of  China  at  public 
theatres  all  the  year  round,  except  during  one  month  at 
the  New  Year,  and  during  the  period  of  mourning  for  a 
deceased  Emperor.  There  is  no  charge  for  admission, 
but  all  visitors  must  take  some  refreshment.  The  various 
Trade-Guilds  have  raised  stages  upon  their  premises, 
and  give  periodical  performances  free  to  all  who  will 
stand  in  an  open-air  courtyard  to  watch  them.  Man- 
darins and  wealthy  persons  often  engage  actors  to 
perform  in  their  private  houses,  generally  while  a 
dinner-party  is  going  on.  In  the  country,  performances 
are  provided  by  public  subscription,  and  take  place  at 
temples  or  on  temporary  stages  put  up  in  the  roadway. 


THE  DRAMA  259 

These  stages  are  always  essentially  the  same.  There  is 
no  curtain,  there  are  no  wings,  and  no  flies.  At  the 
back  of  the  stage  are  two  doors,  one  for  entrance  and 
one  for  exit.  The  actors  who  are  to  perform  the  first 
piece  come  in  by  the  entrance  door  all  together.  When 
the  piece  is  over,  and  as  they  are  filing  out  through  the 
exit  door,  those  who  are  cast  for  the  second  piece  pass 
in  through  the  other  door.  There  is  no  interval,  and  the 
musicians,  who  sit  on  the  stage,  make  no  pause ;  hence 
many  persons  have  stated  that  Chinese  plays  are  ridicu- 
lously long,  the  fact  being  that  half-an-hour  to  an  hour 
would  be  about  an  average  length  for  the  plays  usually 
performed,  though  much  longer  specimens,  such  as 
would  last  from  three  to  five  hours,  are  to  be  found  in 
books.  Eight  or  ten  plays  are  often  performed  at  an 
ordinary  dinner-party,  a  list  of  perhaps  forty  being 
handed  round  for  the  chief  guests  to  choose  from. 

The  actors  undergo  a  very  severe  physical  training, 
usually  between  the  ages  of  nine  and  fourteen.  They 
have  to  learn  all  kinds  of  acrobatic  feats,  these  being 
introduced  freely  into  "  military  "  plays.  They  also  have 
to  practise  walking  on  feet  bound  up  in  imitation  of 
women's  feet,  no  woman  having  been  allowed  on  the 
stage  since  the  days  of  the  Emperor  Ch'ien  Lung  (A.D. 
1736-1796),  whose  mother  had  been  an  actress.  They 
have  further  to  walk  about  in  the  open  air  for  an  hour 
or  so  every  day,  the  head  thrown  back  and  the  mouth 
wide  open  in  order  to  strengthen  the  voice  ;  and  finally, 
their  diet  is  carefully  regulated  according  to  a  fixed 
system  of  training.  Fifty-six  actors  make  up  a  full 
company,  each  of  whom  must  know  perfectly  from  loo 
to  200  plays,  there  being  no  prompter.  These  do  not 
include  the  four-  or  five-act  plays  as  found  in  books, 


260  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

but  either  acting  editions  of  these,  cut  down  to  suit  the 
requirements  of  the  stage,  or  short  farces  specially 
written.  The  actors  are  ranged  under  five  classes 
according  to  their  capabilities,  and  consequently  every 
one  knows  what  part  he  is  expected  to  take  in  any  given 
play.  Far  from  being  an  important  personage,  as  in 
ancient  Greece,  the  actor  is  under  a  social  ban ;  and  for 
three  generations  his  descendants  may  not  compete  at 
the  public  examinations.  Yet  he  must  possess  con- 
siderable ability  in  a  certain  line ;  for  inasmuch  as  there 
are  no  properties  and  no  realism,  he  is  wholly  dependent 
for  success  upon  his  own  powers  of  idealisation.  There 
he  is  indeed  supreme.  He  will  gallop  across  the  stage 
on  horseback,  dismount,  and  pass  his  horse  on  to  a 
groom.  He  will  wander  down  a  street,  and  stop  at  an 
open  shop-window  to  flirt  with  a  pretty  girl.  He  will 
hide  in  a  forest,  or  fight  from  behind  a  battlemented 
wall.  He  conjures  up  by  histrionic  skill  the  whole 
paraphernalia  of  a  scene  which  in  Western  countries 
is  grossly  laid  out  by  supers  before  the  curtain  goes  up. 
The  general  absence  of  properties  is  made  up  to  some 
extent  by  the  dresses  of  the  actors,  which  are  of  the 
most  gorgeous  character,  robes  for  Emperors  and 
grandees  running  into  figures  which  would  stagger  even 
a  West-end  manager. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  actor  must  be  a  good  contor- 
tionist, and  excel  in  gesture.  He  must  have  a  good 
voice,  his  part  consisting  of  song  and  "spoken  "  in  about 
equal  proportions.  To  show  how  utterly  the  Chinese 
disregard  realism,  it  need  only  be  stated  that  dead  men 
get  up  and  walk  off  the  stage  ;  sometimes  they  will 
even  act  the  part  of  bearers  and  make  movements  as 
though  carrying  themselves  away.  Or  a  servant  will 


THE  DRAMA  261 

step  across  to  a  leading  performer  and  hand  him  a  cup 
of  tea  to  clear  his  voice. 

The  merit  of  the  plays  performed  is  not  on  a  level  with 
the  skill  of  the  performer.  A  Chinese  audience  does  not 
go  to  hear  the  play,  but  to  see  the  actor.  In  1678,  at  a 
certain  market-town,  there  was  a  play  performed  which 
represented  the  execution  of  the  patriot,  General  Yo  Fei 
(A.D.  1141),  brought  about  by  the  treachery  of  a  rival, 
Ch'in  Kuei,  who  forged  an  order  for  that  purpose.  The 
actor  who  played  Ch'in  Kuei  (a  term  since  used  contemp- 
tuously for  a  spittoon)  produced  a  profound  sensation  ; 
so  much  so,  that  one  of  the  spectators,  losing  all  self- 
control,  leapt  upon  the  stage  and  stabbed  the  unfortunate 
man  to  death. 

Most  Chinese  plays  are  simple  in  construction  and 
weak  in  plot.  They  are  divided  into  "  military "  and 
"civil,"  which  terms  have  often  been  wrongly  taken  in 
the  senses  of  tragedy  and  comedy,  tragedy  proper  being 
quite  unknown  in  China.  The  former  usually  deal  with 
historical  episodes  and  heroic  or  filial  acts  by  histori- 
cal characters  ;  and  Emperors  and  Generals  and  small 
armies  rush  wildly  about  the  stage,  sometimes  engaged 
in  single  combat,  sometimes  in  turning  head  over  heels. 
Battles  are  fought  and  rivals  or  traitors  executed  before 
the  very  eyes  of  the  audience.  The  "civil"  plays  are 
concerned  with  the  entanglements  of  every-day  life,  and 
are  usually  of  a  farcical  character.  As  they  stand  in 
classical  collections  or  in  acting  editions,  Chinese  plays 
are  as  unobjectionable  as  Chinese  poetry  and  general 
literature.  On  the  stage,  however,  actors  are  allowed 
great  license  in  gagging,  and  the  direction  which  their 
gag  takes  is  chiefly  the  reason  which  keeps  respectable 
women  away  from  the  public  play-house. 


262  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

It  must  therefore  always  be  remembered  that  there  is 
the  play  as  it  can  be  read  in  the  library,  and  again  as  it 
appears  in  the  acting  edition  to  be  learnt,  and  finally  as  it 
is  interpreted  by  the  actor.  These  three  are  often  very 
different  one  from  the  other. 

The  following  abstract  will  give  a  fair  idea  of  the 
pieces  to  be  found  on  the  play-bill  of  any  Chinese 
theatre  : — 

THE  THREE  SUSPICIONS. 

At  the  close  of  the  Ming  dynasty,  a  certain  well-known 
General  was  occupied  day  and  night  in  camp  with  pre- 
parations for  resisting  the  advance  of  the  rebel  army 
which  ultimately  captured  Peking.  While  thus  tempor- 
arily absent  from  home,  the  tutor  engaged  for  his  son 
fell  ill  with  severe  shivering  fits,  and  the  boy,  anxious  to 
do  something  to  relieve  the  sufferer,  went  to  his  mother's 
room  and  borrowed  a  thick  quilt.  Late  that  night,  the 
General  unexpectedly  returned  home,  and  heard  from  a 
slave-girl  in  attendance  of  the  tutor's  illness  and  of  the 
loan  of  the  quilt.  Thereupon,  he  proceeded  straight  to 
the  sick-room,  to  see  how  the  tutor  was  getting  on,  but 
found  him  fast  asleep.  As  he  was  about  to  retire,  he 
espied  on  the  ground  a  pair  of  women's  slippers,  which 
had  been  accidentally  brought  in  with  the  quilt,  and  at 
once  recognised  to  whom  they  belonged.  Hastily  quit- 
ting the  still  sleeping  tutor,  and  arming  himself  with  a 
sharp  scimitar,  he  burst  into  his  wife's  apartment.  He 
seized  the  terrified  woman  by  the  hair,  and  told  her  that 
she  must  die ;  producing,  in  reply  to  her  protestations, 
the  fatal  pair  of  slippers.  He  yielded,  however,  to  the 
entreaties  of  the  assembled  slave-girls,  and  deferred  his 
vengeance  until  he  had  put  the  following  test.  He  sent 


THE  DRAMA  263 

a  slave-girl  to  the  tutor's  room,  himself  following  close 
behind  with  his  naked  weapon  ready  for  use,  bearing 
a  message  from  her  mistress  to  say  she  was  awaiting  him 
in  her  own  room  ;  in  response  to  which  invitation  the 
voice  of  the  tutor  was  heard  from  within,  saying,  4<  What ! 
at  this  hour  of  the  night  ?  Go  away,  you  bad  girl,  or  I 
will  tell  the  master  when  he  comes  back  ! "  Still  uncon- 
vinced, the  jealous  General  bade  his  trembling  wife 
go  herself  and  summon  her  paramour  ;  resolving  that 
if  the  latter  but  put  foot  over  the  threshold,  his  life 
should  pay  the  penalty.  But  there  was  no  occasion  for 
murderous  violence.  The  tutor  again  answered  from 
within  the  bolted  door,  "  Madam,  I  may  not  be  a  saint, 
but  I  would  at  least  seek  to  emulate  the  virtuous  Chao 
Wen-hua  (the  Joseph  of  China).  Go,  and  leave  me  in 
peace."  The  General  now  changes  his  tone  ;  and  the 
injured  wife,  she  too  changes  hers.  She  attempts  to 
commit  suicide,  and  is  only  dissuaded  by  an  abject 
apology  on  the  part  of  her  husband  ;  in  the  middle  of 
which,  as  the  latter  is  on  his  knees,  a  slave-girl  creates 
roars  of  laughter  by  bringing  her  master,  in  mistake  for 
wine,  a  brimming  goblet  of  vinegar,  the  Chinese  emblem 
of  connubial  jealousy. 

The  following  is  a  translation  of  the  acting  edition  of  a 
short  play,  as  commonly  performed,  illustrating,  but  not 
to  exaggeration,  the  slender  and  insufficient  literary  art 
which  satisfies  the  Chinese  public,  the  verses  of  the 
original  being  quite  as  much  doggerel  as  those  of  the 
English  version  : — 


CHINESE  LITERATURE 
THE    FLOWERY    BALL. 


DRAMATIS  PERSONS  : 

Su  Tai-ch'in,  ....                                   a  Suitor. 

Hu  Mao-yuan,  .......        a  Suitor. 

P'ing  Kuei, a  Beggar* 

P'u-sa,         .  .         .         .       the  Beggar's  Guardian  Angel. 

Lady  Wang,  .         .         .       daughter  of  a  high  Mandarin. 
Gatekeeper. 

Suitors,  Servants,  &*c. 

SCENE—  Outside  the  city  ofCKang-an. 

Su  T'ai-ch'in.  At  CKang-an  city  I  reside  : 
My  father  is  a  Mandarin; 
Oh .'  if  I  get  the  Flowery  Ball, 
My  cup  of  joy  will  overflow. 
My  humble  name  is  Su  T'ai-ck'in. 
To-day  the  Lady  Wang  will  throw 
A  Flowery  Ball  to  get  a  spouse; 
And  if  perchance  this  ball  strikes  me^ 
I  am  a  lucky  man  indeed. 
But  now  I  must  go  on  my  way. 

[Walks  on  towards  the  city 

Enter  Hu  Mao-yuan. 

Hu  Mao-yuan.  My  father  is  a  nobleman, 

And  I'm  a  jolly  roving  blade; 
To-day  the  Lady  Wang  will  throw 
A  Flowery  Ball  to  get  a  spouse. 
It  all  depends  on  destiny 
Whether  or  not  this  Ball  strikes  me. 
My  humble  name  is  Hu  Mao-yuan ; 
But  as  the  Ball  is  thrown  to-day 
I  must  be  moving  on  my  way. 
Why,  that  looks  very  like  friend  Su  ! 
Pll  call:  "  Friend  Su,  don't  go  so  fast. ." 
Su.  IPs  Hu  Mao-yuan  :  now  wfiere  go  you  ? 
Hu.   To  the  Governor's  palace  to  get  me  a  wife. 
Su.   To  the  Flowery  Ball  ?     Well,  Pm  going  too. 
[Sings.]   The  Lady  Wang  the  Flowery  Ball  will  throw^ 


THE  DRAMA  265 

That  all  the  world  her  chosen  spouse  might  stet 
Among  the  noble  suitors  down  below — 
But  who  knows  who  the  lucky  man  will  be  ? 

Hu  [sings.]  I  think  your  luck  is  sure  to  take  you  through. 

Su  [sings.]  Your  handsome  face  should  bring  the  Ball  to  you. 

Hu  [sings.]  At  any  rate  it  lies  between  us  two. 

Su  [sings.]  Therms  hardly  anybody  else  who'd  do. 

Hu  [sings.]  Then  come  let  us  go,  let  us  make  haste  and  run. 

Su  [sings.]  Away  let  us  go,  but  don't  be  so  slow, 
Or  we  shan't  be  in  time  for  the  fun. 

[Exeunt 
Enter  P'ing  Kuei. 

Ping  [sings.]  Ah!  that  day  within  the  garden 
When  my  lady-love  divine, 
Daughter  of  a  wealthy  noble, 
Promised  that  she  would  be  mine. 
At  the  garden  gate  she  pledged  met 
Bidding  me  come  here  to-day; 
From  my  miserable  garret 
I  have  just  now  crept  away. 
And  as  I  pass  the  city  gates 
I  ope  my  eyes  and  see 
A  crowd  of  noble  youths  as  thick 
As  leaves  upon  a  tree. 
Forward  they  press,  but  who  knows  which 
The  lucky  man  will  be  ? 
In  vain  I  strain  my  eager  eyes — 
Alas  !  'twill  break  my  heart — 
Among  the  well-dressed  butterflies 
I  find  no  counterpart. 
Let  her  be  faithless  or  be  true 
I  lose  the  Ball  as  sure  as  fate  ; 
Though,  if  she  spoke  me  idle  words, 
Why  trifle  at  the  garden  gate  ? 
Nevertheless,  I'm  bound  to  go 
Whether  I  get  the  Ball  or  no  : 
My  bowl  and  my  staff  in  my  hands— just  s«. 
Rank  and  fortune  often  come 

From  matrimonial  affairs j 
fll  think  of  it  all  as  I  walk  along — 

And  perhaps  Fd  better  say  my  prayers. 


266  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

Why,  Jure  I  am  at  the  very  spot! 

r  II  just  walk  in. 
Gatekeeper.  /  say  you'll  not  / 
P'ing  [sings.]  Oh  /  dear,  he's  stopped  me  !  why,  Heaven  knows! 

It  must  be  my  hat  and  tattered  clothes. 

ril  stay  here  and  raise  an  infernal  din 

Until  they  consent  to  let  me  in. 
Gatekeeper.  /  haven't  anything  to  spare, 

So  come  again  another  day. 
P'ing.   Oh  /  let  me  just  go  in  to  look. 
Gatekeeper.  Among  the  sons  of  noblemen 

What  can  there  be  for  you  to  see  ? 

Begone  at  once,  or  PU  soon  make  you. 
P'ing.  Alas  /  alas  !  -what  can  I  do? 

If  I  don't  get  -within  the  court, 

The  Lady  Wang  will  tire  of  waiting. 

Enter  P'u-sa. 

Fu-sa  [sings.]  By  heaven's  supreme  command  1  have  flown 
Through  the  blue  expanse  of  sky  and  air  j 
For  a  suffering  soul  has  cried  out  in  woe, 
And  Heaven  has  heard  his  prayer. 
For  the  Lady  Wang  he's  nearly  broken-hearted, 
But  cruel  fate  still  keeps  the  lovers  parted. 
"  Hebbery  gibbery  snobbery  snay  /  " 
On  the  wings  of  the  wind  I'll  ride, 
And  make  the  old  porter  clear  out  of  the  way 
Till  I  get  my  poor  beggar  inside. 
The  Lady  Wang  is  still  within  the  hall 
Waiting  till  the  Emperor  sends  the  Flowery  Ball, 

[Raises  the  wind. 

Gatekeeper.  Oh  dear !  how  cold  the  wind  is  blowing. 
I  do  not  see  the  lady  coming, 
And  so  I  think  I'll  step  inside. 

Enter  Lady  Wang. 

Lady  Wang  [sings.]  In  gala  dress  I  leave  my  boudoir^ 
Thinking  all  the  time  of  thee — 
O  Heaven,  fulfil  a  mortaFs  longings. 
And  link  my  love  to  me. 


THE  DRAMA  267 

My  gorgeous  cap  is  broidered  o*er 

With  flocks  of  glittering  birds  : 

Here  shine  the  seven  stars,  and  there 

A  boy  is  muttering  holy  "words. 

My  bodice  dazzles  with  its  lustrous  sheen  : 

My  skirts  are  worked  -with  many  a  gaudy  scene. 

[Showing  BalL 

His  Majesty  on  me  bestowed  this  Ball, 
And  from  a  balcony  he  bid  me  let  it  fall, 
7  hen  take  as  husband  whomsoever  it  struck, 
Prince,  merchant,  beggar,  as  might  be  my  luck. 
And  having  left  my  parents  and  my  home, 
Hither  to  the  Painted  Tower  I've  come. 
As  I  slowly  mount  the  stairs, 
I  ope  my  eyes  and  see 
A  crowd  of  noble  youths  as  thick 
As  leaves  up  on  a  tree. 
But  ah  !  amongst  the  many  fornts^ 
Which  meet  my  eager  eye, 
The  figure  of  my  own  true  love 
I  cannot  yet  descry. 

The  pledge  I  gave  him  at  the  garden  gate 
Can  he  forget?     The  hour  is  waxing  late. 

A  nd  the  crowds  down  below 

Bewilder  me  so 

That  I  am  in  a  most  desperate  state. 
Oh  !  P  ing  Kitei,  if  you  really  love  me, 
Hasten  quickly  to  my  side  : 
If  the  words  you  spoke  were  idle, 
Why  ask  me  to  be  your  bride  ? 
He  perhaps  his  ease  is  taking, 
While  my  foolish  heart  is  breaking. 
I  can't  return  till  I  have  done 
This  work  in  misery  begun, 
And  so  I  take  the  Flowery  Ball 
And  with  a  sigh  1  let  it  fall. 

[Throws  down  the  ball 

P'u-sa.  '7 'is  thus  I  seize  the  envied  prize, 
And  give  it  to  my  protege" ', 
I'll  throw  it  in  his  earthen  bowl. 

[Throws  the  ball  to  P'ing  Kuei. 


268  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

Lady  Wang  [sings.]  Stay  1 1  hear  the  people  shouting— 
What,  the  Ball  some  beggar  struck  ? 
It  must  be  my  own  true  P'ing  Kuei— 
ril  go  home  and  tell  my  luck  ! 
Maidens !  through  the  temple  kindle 
Incense  for  my  lucky  fate  ; 
Now  my  true  love  will  discover 
That  I  can  discriminate. 

[Exeunt  omnes. 

Enter  Hu  Mao-yuan  and  Su  Tai-ch'in. 
Hu.    The  second  of  the  second  moon 

The  Dragon  wakes  to  life  and power  j 

To-day  the  Lady  Wang  has  thrown 

The  Ball  from  out  the  Painted  Tower. 

No  well-born  youth  was  singled  out. 

It  struck  a  dirty  vagrant  lout. 

Friend  Su,  Pm  off:  we're  done  for,  as  you  saw^ 

Though  for  the  little  paltry  wench  I  do  not  care  a  straw. 

[Exeunt. 

Enter  Gatekeeper  and  Beggar. 
Gatekeeper.  Only  one  poor  beggar  now  remains  within  the  hall, 

Who'd  have  thought  that  this  poor  vagrant  would  have  got 

the  Ball? 
[To  P'ing  Kuei.]  Sir,  you've  come  off  well  this  morning: 

You  must  be  a  lucky  man. 
Come  with  me  to  claim  your  bride,  and 
Make  the  greatest  haste  you  can. 

[Exeunt. 

Even  the  longer  and  more  elaborate  plays  are  propor- 
tionately wanting  in  all  that  makes  the  drama  piquant  to 
a  European,  and  are  very  seldom,  if  ever,  produced  as 
they  stand  in  print.  Many  collections  of  these  have  been 
published,  not  to  mention  the  acting  editions  of  each 
play,  which  can  be  bought  at  any  bookstall  for  some- 
thing like  three  a  penny.  One  of  the  best  of  such 
collections  is  the  Yuan  cnii  hstian  tsa  chi,  or  Miscel- 
laneous Selection  of  Mongol  Plays,  bound  up  in  eight 


CHI  CHON-HSIANG  269 

thick  volumes.  It  contains  one  hundred  plays  in  all, 
with  an  illustration  to  each,  according  to  the  edition  of 
1615.  ^  large  proportion  of  these  cannot  be  assigned 
to  "any  author,  and  are  therefore  marked  "  anony- 
mous." Even  when  the  authors'  names  are  given,  they 
represent  men  altogether  unknown  in  what  the  Chinese 
cgill  literature,  from  which  the  drama  is  rigorously 
excluded. 

The  following  is  a  brief  outline  of  a  very  well  known 
play  in  five  acts  by  CHI  CHUN-HSIANG,  entitled  "The 
Qrphan  of  the  Chao  family,"  and  founded  closely  upon 
fact.  It  is  the  nearest  approach  which  the  Chinese  have 
made  to  genuine  tragedy : — • 

A  wicked  Minister  of  the  sixth  century  B.C.  plotted  the 
destruction  of  a  rival  named  Chao  Tun,  and  of  all  his 
family.  He  tells  in  the  prologue  how  he  had  vainly 
trained  a  fierce  dog  to  kill  his  rival,  by  keeping  it  for  days 
without  food  and  then  setting  it  at  a  dummy,  dressed 
to  represent  his  intended  victim,  and  stuffed  with  the 
heart  and  lights  of  a  sheep.  Ultimately,  however,  he 
had  managed  to  get  rid  of  all  the  male  members  of  the 
family,  to  the  number  of  three  hundred,  when  he  hears 
—and  at  this  point  the  play  proper  begins — that  the 
wife  of  the  last  representative  has  given  birth  to  a  son. 
He  promptly  sends  to  find  the  child,  which  had  mean- 
while been  carried  away  to  a  place  of  safety.  Then  a 
faithful  servant  of  the  family  hid  himself  on  the  hills 
with  another  child,  while  an  accomplice  informed  the 
Minister  where  the  supposed  orphan  of  the  house  of 
Chao  was  lying  hidden.  The  child  was  accordingly 
slain,  and  by  the  hand  of  the  Minister  himself ;  the 
servant  committed  suicide.  But  the  real  heir  escaped, 
and  when  he  grew  up  he  avenged  the  wrongs  of  his 


270  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

family  by  killing  the  cruel  Minister  and  utterly  exter- 
minating his  race. 

From  beginning  to  end  of  this  and  similar  plays  there 
is  apparently  no  attempt  whatever  at  passion  or  pathos 
in  the  language— at  any  rate,  not  in  the  sense  in  which 
those  terms  are  understood  by  us.  Nor  are  there  even 
rhetorical  flowers  to  disguise  the  expression  of  common- 
place thought.  The  Chinese  actor  can  do  a  great  deal 
with  such  a  text ;  the  translator,  nothing.  There  is  much, 
too,  of  a  primitive  character  in  the  setting  of  the  play. 
Explanatory  prologues  are  common,  and  actors  usually 
begin  by  announcing  their  own  names  and  further 
clearing  the  way  for  the  benefit  of  the  audience.  The 
following  story  will  give  a  faint  idea  of  the  license 
conceded  to  the  play-actor. 

My  attention  was  attracted  on  one  occasion  at  Amoy  by 
an  unusually  large  crowd  of  Chinamen  engaged  in  watch- 
ing the  progress  of  an  open-air  theatrical  performance. 
Roars  of  laughter  resounded  on  all  sides,  and  on  looking 
to  see  what  was  the  moving  cause  of  this  extraordinary 
explosion  of  merriment,  I  beheld  to  my  astonishment  a 
couple  of  rather  seedy-looking  foreigners  occupying  the 
stage,  and  apparently  acting  with  such  spirit  as  to  bring 
the  house  down  at  every  other  word.  A  moment  more 
and  it  was  clear  that  these  men  of  the  West  were  not 
foreigners  at  all,  but  Chinamen  dressed  up  for  the 
purposes  of  the  piece.  The  get-up,  nevertheless,  was  re- 
markably good,  if  somewhat  exaggerated,  though  doubt- 
less the  intention  was  to  caricature  or  burlesque  rather 
than  to  reproduce  an  exact  imitation.  There  was  the  billy- 
cock hat,  and  below  it  a  florid  face  well  supplied  with  red 
moustaches  and  whiskers,  the  short  cut-away  coat  and 


THE  DRAMA  271 

Kghl  trousers,  a  blue  neck-tie,  and  last,  but  not  least,  the 
ever-characteristic  walking-stick.  Half  the  fun,  in  fact, 
was  got  out  of  this  last  accessory  ;  for  with  it  each  one 
of  the  two  was  continually  threatening  the  other,  and 
both  united  in  violent  gesticulations  directed  either 
against  their  brother-actors  or  sometimes  against  the 
audience  at  their  feet. 

Before  going  any  further  it  may  be  as  well  to  give  a 
short  outline  of  the  play  itself,  which  happens  to  be  not 
uninteresting  and  is  widely  known  from  one  end  of 
China  to  the  other.  It  is  called  "  Slaying  a  Son  at  the 
Yamen  Gate,"  and  the  plot,  or  rather  story,  runs  as 
follows  : — 

A  certain  general  of  the  Sung  dynasty  named  Yang, 
being  in  charge  of  one  of  the  frontier  passes,  sent  his 
son  to  obtain  a  certain  wooden  staff  from  an  outlying 
barbarian  tribe.  In  this  expedition  the  son  not  only 
failed  signally,  but  was  further  taken  prisoner  by  a 
barbarian  lady,  who  insisted  upon  his  immediately 
leading  her  to  the  altar.  Shortly  after  these  nuptials  he 
returns  to  his  father's  camp,  and  the  latter,  in  a  violent 
fit  of  anger,  orders  him  to  be  taken  outside  the  Yam6n 
gate  and  be  there  executed  forthwith.  As  the  soldiers 
are  leading  him  away,  the  young  man's  mother  comes 
and  throwrs  herself  at  the  general's  feet,  and  implores 
him  to  spare  her  son.  This  request  the  stern  father 
steadily  refuses  to  grant,  even  though  his  wife's  prayers 
are  backed  up  by  those  of  his  own  mother,  of  a  prince 
of  the  Imperial  blood,  and  finally  by  the  entreaties  of 
the  Emperor  himself.  At  this  juncture  in  rushes  the 
barbarian  wife  of  the  general's  condemned  son,  and  as 
on  a  previous  occasion  the  general  himself  had  been 
taken  prisoner  by  this  very  lady,  and  only  ransomed  on 


272  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

payment  of  a  heavy  sum  of  money,  he  is  so  alarmed 
that  he  sits  motionless  and  unable  to  utter  a  word  while 
with  a  dagger  she  severs  the  cords  that  bind  her  hus- 
band, sets  him  free  before  the  assembled  party,  and 
dares  any  one  to  lay  a  hand  on  him  at  his  peril.  The 
Emperor  now  loses  his  temper,  and  is  enraged  to  think 
that  General  Yang  should  have  been  awed  into  granting 
to  a  barbarian  woman  a  life  that  he  had  just  before 
refused  to  the  entreaties  of  the  Son  of  Heaven.  His 
Majesty,  therefore,  at  once  deprives  the  father  of  his 
command  and  bestows  it  upon  the  son,  and  the 
play  is  brought  to  a  conclusion  with  the  departure 
of  young  General  Yang  and  his  barbarian  wife  to 
subdue  the  wild  tribes  that  are  then  harassing  the 
frontier  of  China.  The  two  foreigners  are  the  pages 
or  attendants  of  the  barbarian  wife,  and  accompany 
her  in  that  capacity  when  she  follows  her  husband  to 
his  father's  camp. 

The  trick  of  dressing  these  pages  up  to  caricature  the 
foreigner  of  the  nineteenth  century,  on  the  occasion 
when  I  saw  the  piece,  was  a  mere  piece  of  stage  gag, 
but  one  which  amused  the  people  immensely,  and 
elicited  rounds  of  applause.  But  when  the  barbarian 
wife  had  succeeded  in  rescuing  her  husband  from  the 
jaws  of  death,  there  was  considerable  dissatisfaction  in 
the  minds  of  several  of  the  personages  on  the  stage. 
The  Emperor  was  angry  at  the  slight  that  had  been 
passed  upon  his  Imperial  dignity,  the  wife  and  mother  of 
the  general,  not  to  mention  the  prince  of  the  blood,  felt 
themselves  similarly  slighted,  though  in  a  lesser  degree, 
and  the  enraged  father  was  still  more  excited  at  having 
had  his  commands  set  aside,  and  seeing  himself  bearded 
in  his  own  Yamen  by  a  mere  barbarian  woman.  It  was 


WANG  SHIH-FU  273 

consequently  felt  by  all  parties  that  something  in  the 
way  of  slaughter  was  wanting  to  relieve  their  own 
feelings,  and  to  satisfy  the  unities  of  the  drama  and  the 
cravings  of  the  audience  for  a  sensational  finale  ;  and 
this  desirable  end  was  attained  by  an  order  from  the 
Emperor  that  at  any  rate  the  two  foreign  attendants 
might  be  sacrificed  for  the  benefit  of  all  concerned.  The 
two  wretched  foreigners  were  accordingly  made  to  kneel 
on  the  stage,  and  their  heads  were  promptly  lopped  off 
by  the  executioner  amid  the  deafening  plaudits  of  the 
surrounding  spectators. 

In  1885  a  play  was  performed  in  a  Shanghai  theatre 
which  had  for  its  special  attraction  a  rude  imitation  of  a 
paddle-steamer  crowded  with  foreign  men  and  women. 
It  was  wheeled  across  the  back  of  the  stage,  and  the 
foreigners  and  their  women,  who  were  supposed  to  have 
come  with  designs  upon  the  Middle  Kingdom,  were  all 
taken  prisoners  and  executed. 

Of  all  plays  of  the  Mongol  dynasty,  the  one  which  will 
best  repay  reading  is  undoubtedly  the  Hsi  Hsiang  Chi,  or 
Story  of  the  Western  Pavilion,  in  sixteen  scenes.  It  is 
by  WANG  SHIH-FU,  of  whom  nothing  seems  to  be  known 
except  that  he  flourished  in  the  thirteenth  century,  and 
wrote  thirteen  plays,  all  of  which  are  included  in  the 
collection  mentioned  above.  "  The  dialogue  of  this 
play,"  says  a  Chinese  critic,  "deals  largely  with  wind, 
flowers,  snow,  and  moonlight,"  which  is  simply  a  euphe- 
mistic way  of  stating  that  the  story  is  one  of  passion  and 
intrigue.  It  is  popular  with  the  educated  classes,  by 
whom  it  is  regarded  more  as  a  novel  than  as  a  play. 

A  lady  and  her  daughter  are  staying  at  a  temple, 
where,  in  accordance  with  common  custom,  rooms  are 


274  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

let  by  the  priests  to  ordinary  travellers  or  to  visitors  who 
may  wish  to  perform  devotional  exercises.  A  young 
and  handsome  student,  who  also  happens  to  be  living 
at  the  temple,  is  lucky  enough  to  succeed  in  saving 
the  two  ladies  from  the  clutches  of  brigands,  for  which 
service  he  has  previously  been  promised  the  hand  of 
the  daughter  in  marriage.  The  mother,  however,  soon 
repents  of  her  engagement,  and  the  scholar  is  left 
disconsolate.  At  this  juncture  the  lady's-maid  of  the 
daughter  manages  by  a  series  of  skilful  manoeuvres  to 
bring  the  story  to  a  happy  issue. 

Just  as  there  have  always  been  poetesses  in  China,  so 
women  are  to  be  found  in  the  ranks  of  Chinese  play- 
wrights. A  four-act  drama,  entitled  "  Joining  the  Shirt," 
was  written  by  one  CHANG  KUO-PIN,  an  educated  cour- 
tesan of  the  day,  the  chief  interest  of  which  play  lies 
perhaps  in  the  sex  of  the  writer. 

A  father  and  mother,  with  son  and  daughter-in-law, 
are  living  happily  together,  when  a  poverty-stricken 
young  stranger  is  first  of  all  assisted  by  them,  and  then, 
without  further  inquiry,  is  actually  adopted  into  the 
family.  Soon  afterwards  the  new  son  persuades  the 
elder  brother  and  his  wife  secretly  to  leave  home,  taking 
all  the  property  they  can  lay  their  hands  on,  and  to 
journey  to  a  distant  part  of  the  country,  where  there  is 
a  potent  god  from  whom  the  wife  is  to  pray  for  and 
obtain  a  son  after  what  has  been  already  an  eighteen 
months'  gestation.  On  the  way,  the  new  brother  pushes 
the  husband  overboard  into  the  Yang-tsze  and  disap- 
pears with  the  wife,  who  shortly  gives  birth  to  a  boy. 
Eighteen  years  pass.  The  old  couple  have  sunk  into 
poverty,  and  set  out,  begging  their  way,  to  seek  for  their 


CHANG  KUO-PIN  275 

lost  son.  Chance — playwright's  chance — throws  them 
into  the  company  of  their  grandson,  who  has  graduated 
as  Senior  Classic,  and  has  also,  prompted  by  his  mother, 
been  on  the  look-out  for  them.  Recognition  is  effected 
by  means  of  the  two  halves  of  a  shirt,  one  of  which  had 
always  been  kept  by  the  old  man  and  the  other  by  the 
missing  son,  and  after  his  death  by  his  wife.  At  this 
juncture  the  missing  son  reappears.  H6  had  been 
rescued  from  drowning  by  a  boatman,  and  had  become 
a  Buddhist  priest.  He  now  reverts  to  lay  life,  and  the 
play  is  brought  to  an  end  by  the  execution  of  the  villain 
It  is  a  curious  fact  that  all  the  best  troupes  of  actors 
not  only  come  from  Peking,  but  perform  in  their  own 
dialect,  which  is  practically  unintelligible  to  the  masses 
in  many  parts  of  China.  These  actors  are,  of  course, 
very  well  paid,  in  order  to  make  it  worth  their  while  to 
travel  so  far  from  home  and  take  the  risks  to  life  and 
property. 


CHAPTER   III 
THE  NOVEL 

TURNING  now  to  the  second  literary  achievement  of  the 
Mongols,  the  introduction  of  the  Novel,  we  find  ourselves 
face  to  face  with  the  same  mystery  as  that  which  shrouds 
the  birth  of  the  Drama.  The  origin  of  the  Chinese 
novel  is  unknown.  It  probably  came  from  Central  Asia, 
the  paradise  of  story-tellers,  in  the  wake  of  the  Mongol 
conquest.  Three  centuries  had  then  to  elapse  before  the 
highest  point  of  development  was  reached.  Fables,  anec- 
dotes, and  even  short  stories  had  already  been  familiar 
to  the  Chinese  for  many  centuries,  but  between  these  and 
the  novel  proper  there  is  a  wide  gulf  which  so  far  had 
not  been  satisfactorily  bridged.  Some,  indeed,  have 
maintained  that  the  novel  was  developed  from  the  play, 
pointing  in  corroboration  of  their  theory  to  the  Hsi 
Hsiang  Chi,  or  Story  of  the  Western  Pavilion,  described 
in  the  preceding  chapter.  This,  however,  simply  means 
that  the  Hsi  Hsiang  Chi  is  more  suited  for  private  read- 
ing than  for  public  representation,  as  is  the  case  with 
many  Western  plays. 

The  Chinese  range  their  novels  under  four  heads,  as 
dealing  (i)  with  usurpation  and  plotting,  (2)  with  love 
and  intrigue,  (3)  with  superstition,  and  (4)  with  brigand- 
age or  lawless  characters  generally.  Examples  of  each 

class  will  be  given. 

276 


LO  KUAN-CHUNG  277 

The  San  kuo  chih  yen  i,  attributed  to  one  Lo  KUAN- 
CHUNG,  is  an  historical  novel  based  upon  the  wars  of  the 
Three  Kingdoms  which  fought  for  supremacy  at  the 
beginning  of  the  third  century  A.D.  It  consists  mainly  of 
stirring  scenes  of  warfare,  of  cunning  plans  by  skilful 
generals,  and  of  doughty  deeds  by  blood  -  stained 
warriors.  Armies  and  fleets  of  countless  myriads  are 
from  time  to  time  annihilated  by  one  side  or  another, — 
all  this  in  an  easy  and  fascinating  style,  which  makes 
the  book  an  endless  joy  to  old  and  young  alike.  If  a 
vote  were  taken  among  the  people  of  China  as  to  the 
greatest  among  their  countless  novels,  the  Story  of  the 
Three  Kingdoms  would  indubitably  come  out  first. 

This  is  how  the  great  commander  Chu-ko  Liang  is  said 
to  have  replenished  his  failing  stock  of  arrows.  He  sent 
a  force  of  some  twenty  or  more  ships  to  feign  an  attack 
on  the  fleet  of  his  powerful  rival,  Tsao  Ts'ao.  The 
decks  of  the  ships  were  apparently  covered  with  large 
numbers  of  fighting  men,  but  these  were  in  reality 
nothing  more  than  straw  figures  dressed  up  in  soldiers' 
clothes.  On  each  ship  there  were  only  a  few  sailors  and 
some  real  soldiers  with  gongs  and  other  noisy  instru- 
ments. Reaching  their  destination,  as  had  been  care- 
fully calculated  beforehand,  in  the  middle  of  a  dense 
fog,  the  soldiers  at  once  began  to  beat  on  their  gongs  as 
if  about  to  go  into  action  ;  whereupon  Ts'ao  Ts'ao,  who 
could  just  make  out  the  outlines  of  vessels  densely 
packed  with  fighting  men  bearing  down  upon  him,  gave 
orders  to  his  archers  to  begin  shooting.  The  latter  did 
so,  and  kept  on  for  an  hour  and  more,  until  Chu-ko 
Liang  was  satisfied  with  what  he  had  got,  and  passed  the 
order  to  retreat. 

Elsewhere  we  read  of  an  archery  competition  which 


2/8  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

recalls  the  Homeric  games.  A  target  is  set  up,  and  the 
prize,  a  robe,  is  hung  upon  a  twig  just  above.  From  a 
distance  of  one  hundred  paces  the  heroes  begin  to  shoot. 
Of  course  each  competitor  hits  the  bull's-eye,  one, 
Parthian-like,  with  his  back  to  the  target,  another  shoot- 
ing over  his  own  head ;  and  equally  of  course  the 
favoured  hero  shoots  at  the  twig,  severs  it,  and  carries 
off  the  robe. 

The  following  extract  will  perhaps  be  interesting,  deal- 
ing as  it  does  with  the  use  of  anesthetics  long  before 
they  were  dreamt  of  in  this  country.  Ts'ao  Ts'ao  had 
been  struck  on  the  head  with  a  sword  by  the  spirit  of 
a  pear-tree  which  he  had  attempted  to  cut  down.  He 
suffered  such  agony  that  one  of  his  staff  recommended 
a  certain  doctor  who  was  then  very  much  in  vogue  : — 

"  '  Dr.  Hua,'  explained  the  officer,  '  is  a  mighty  skilful 
physician,  and  such  a  one  as  is  not  often  to  be  found. 
His  administration  of  drugs,  and  his  use  of  acupuncture 
and  counter-irritants  are  always  followed  by  the  speedy 
recovery  of  the  patient.  If  the  sick  man  is  suffering 
from  some  internal  complaint  and  medicines  produce  no 
satisfactory  result,  then  Dr.  Hua  will  administer  a  dose 
of  hashish,  under  the  influence  of  which  the  patient 
becomes  as  it  were  intoxicated  with  wine.  He  now 
takes  a  sharp  knife  and  opens  the  abdomen,  proceeding 
to  wash  the  patient's  viscera  with  medicinal  liquids,  but 
without  causing  him  the  slightest  pain.  The  washing 
finished,  he  sews  up  the  wound  with  medicated  thread 
and  puts  over  it  a  plaster,  and  by  the  end  of  a  month  or 
twenty  days  the  place  has  healed  up.  Such  is  his  extra- 
ordinary skill.  One  day,  for  instance,  as  he  was  walking 
along  a  road,  he  heard  some  one  groaning  deeply,  and  at 
once  declared  that  the  cause  was  indigestion.  On  inquiry, 


LO  KUAN-CHUNG  279 

this  turned  out  to  be  the  case  ;  and  accordingly,  Dr.  Hua 
ordered  the  sufferer  to  drink  three  pints  of  a  decoction 
of  garlic  and  leeks,  which  he  did,  and  vomited  forth  a 
snake  between  two  and  three  feet  in  length,  after  which 
he  could  digest  food  as  before.  On  another  occasion,  the 
Governor  of  Kuang-ling  was  very  much  depressed  in  his 
mind,  besides  being  troubled  with  a  flushing  of  the  face 
and  total  loss  of  appetite.  He  consulted  Dr.  Hua,  and 
the  effect  of  some  medicine  administered  by  him  was  to 
cause  the  invalid  to  throw  up  a  quantity  of  red-headed 
wriggling  tadpoles,  which  the  doctor  told  him  had  been 
generated  in  his  system  by  too  great  indulgence  in  fish, 
and  which,  although  temporarily  expelled,  would  re- 
appear after  an  interval  of  three  years,  when  nothing 
could  save  him.  And  sure  enough,  he  died  three  years 
afterwards.  In  a  further  instance,  a  man  had  a  tumour 
growing  between  his  eyebrows,  the  itching  of  which  was 
insupportable.  When  Dr.  Hua  saw  it,  he  said,  'There  is 
a  bird  inside,'  at  which  everybody  laughed.  However, 
he  took  a  knife  and  opened  the  tumour,  and  out  flew  a 
canary,  the  patient  beginning  to  recover  from  that  hour. 
Again,  another  man  had  had  his  toes  bitten  by  a  dog, 
the  consequence  being  that  two  lumps  of  flesh  grew  up 
from  the  wound,  one  of  which  was  very  painful  while 
the  other  itched  unbearably.  '  There  are  ten  needles/ 
said  Dr.  Hua,  '  in  the  sore  lump,  and  two  black  and 
white  wei-ch'i  pips  in  the  other.'  No  one  believed  this 
until  Dr.  Hua  opened  them  with  a  knife  and  showed  that 
it  was  so.  Truly  he  is  of  the  same  strain  as  Pien  Ch'iao 
and  Ts'ang  Kung  of  old  ;  and  as  he  is  now  living  not 
very  far  from  this,  I  wonder  your  Highness  does  not 
summon  him.' 

"  At  this,  Ts'ao  Ts'ao  sent  away  messengers  who  were 


280  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

to  travel  day  and  night  until  they  had  brought  Dr.  Hua 
before  him  ;  and  when  he  arrived,  Ts'ao  Ts'ao  held  out 
his  pulse  and  desired  him  to  diagnose  his  case. 

"'The  pain  in  your  Highness's  head/  said  Dr.  Hua, 
'  arises  from  wind,  and  the  seat  of  the  disease  is  the 
brain,  where  the  wind  is  collected,  unable  to  get  out. 
Drugs  are  of  no  avail  in  your  present  condition,  foi 
which  there  is  but  one  remedy.  You  must  first  swallow 
a  dose  of  hashish,  and  then  with  a  sharp  axe  I  will  split 
open  the  back  of  your  head  and  let  the  wind  out.  Thus 
the  disease  will  be  exterminated.' 

"  Ts'ao  Ts'ao  here  flew  into  a  great  rage,  and  declared 
that  it  was  a  plot  aimed  at  his  life ;  to  which  Dr.  Hua 
replied,  '  Has  not  your  Highness  heard  of  Kuan  Yii's 
wound  in  the  right  shoulder  ?  I  scraped  the  bone  and 
removed  the  poison  for  him  without  a  single  sign  of  fear 
on  his  part.  Your  Highness's  disease  is  but  a  trifling 
affair  ;  why,  then,  so  much  suspicion  ? ' 

"'You  may  scrape  a  sore  shoulder-bone,'  said  Ts'ao 
Ts'ao,  '  without  much  risk  ;  but  to  split  open  my  skull  is 
quite  another  matter.  It  strikes  me  now  that  you  are 
here  simply  to  avenge  your  friend  Kuan  Yii  upon  this 
opportunity.'  He  thereupon  gave  orders  that  the  doctor 
should  be  seized  and  cast  into  prison." 

There  the  unfortunate  doctor  soon  afterwards  died, 
and  before  very  long  Ts'ao  Ts'ao  himself  succumbed. 

The  Shut  Hu  Chuan  is  said  to  have  been  written  by 
SHIH  NAI-AN  of  the  thirteenth  century  ;  but  this  name 
does  not  appear  in  any  biographical  collection,  and  no- 
thing seems  to  be  known  either  of  the  man  or  of  his 
authorship.  The  story  is  based  upon  the  doings  of  an 
historical  band  of  brigands,  who  had  actually  terrorised 


SHIH  NAI-AN  281 

a  couple  of  provinces,  until  they  were  finally  put  down, 
early  in  the  twelfth  century.  Some  of  it  is  very  laugh- 
able, and  all  of  it  valuable  for  the  insight  given  into 
Chinese  manners  and  customs.  There  is  a  ludicrous 
episode  of  a  huge  swashbuckler  who  took  refuge  in  a 
Buddhist  temple  and  became  a  priest.  After  a  while  he 
reverted  to  less  ascetic  habits  of  life,  and  returned  one 
day  to  the  temple,  in  Chinese  phraseology,  as  drunk  as 
a  clod,  making  a  great  riot  and  causing  much  scandal. 
He  did  this  on  a  second  occasion  ;  and  when  shut  out 
by  the  gatekeeper,  he  tried  to  burst  in,  and  in  his  drunken 
fury  knocked  to  pieces  a  huge  idol  at  the  entrance  for 
not  stepping  down  to  his  assistance.  Then,  when  he 
succeeded  by  a  threat  of  fire  in  getting  the  monks  to 
open  the  gate,  "through  which  no  wine  or  meat  may 
pass,"  he  fell  down  in  the  courtyard,  and  out  of  his  robe 
tumbled  a  half-eaten  dog's  leg,  which  he  had  carried 
away  with  him  from  the  restaurant  where  he  had  drunk 
himself  tipsy.  This  he  amused  himself  by  tearing  to 
pieces  and  forcing  into  the  mouth  of  one  of  his  fellow- 
priests. 

The  graphic  and  picturesque  style  in  which  this  book 
is  written,  though  approaching  the  colloquial,  has  secured 
for  it  a  position  rather  beyond  its  real  merits. 

The  Hsi  Yu  Chi,  or  Record  of  Travels  in  the  West, 
is  a  favourite  novel  written  in  a  popular  and  easy  style. 
It  is  based  upon  the  journey  of  Hsiian  Tsang  to  India 
in  search  of  books,  images,  and  relics  to  illustrate 
the  Buddhist  religion ;  but  beyond  the  fact  that  the 
chief  personage  is  called  by  Hsuan  Tsang's  posthumous 
title,  and  that  he  travels  in  search  of  Buddhist  books, 
the  journey  and  the  novel  have  positively  nothing  in 


282  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

common.  The  latter  is  a  good  sample  of  the  fiction  in 
which  the  Chinese  people  delight,  and  may  be  allowed 
to  detain  us  awhile. 

A  stone  monkey  is  born  on  a  mysterious  mountain 
from  a  stone  egg,  and  is  soon  elected  to  be  king  of  the 
monkeys.  He  then  determines  to  travel  in  search  of 
wisdom,  and  accordingly  sets  forth.  His  first  step  is  to 
gain  a  knowledge  of  the  black  art  from  a  magician,  after 
which  he  becomes  Master  of  the  Horse  to  God,  that  is, 
to  the  supreme  deity  in  the  Taoist  Pantheon.  Throwing 
up  his  post  in  disgust,  he  carries  on  a  series  of  disturb- 
ances in  the  world  generally,  until  at  length  God  is 
obliged  to  interfere,  and  sends  various  heavenly  generals 
to  coerce  him.  These  he  easily  puts  to  flight,  only  re- 
turning to  his  allegiance  on  being  appointed  the  Great 
Holy  One  of  All  the  Heavens.  He  is  soon  at  his  old 
tricks  again,  stealing  the  peaches  of  immortality  from 
a  legendary  being  known  as  the  Royal  Mother  in  the 
West,  and  also  some  elixir  of  life,  both  of  which  he 
consumes. 

All  the  minor  deities  now  complain  to  God  of  his 
many  misdeeds,  and  heavenly  armies  are  despatched 
against  him,  but  in  vain.  Even  God's  nephew  cannot 
prevail  against  him  until  Lao  Tzu  throws  a  magic  ring 
at  him  and  knocks  him  down.  He  is  then  carried  captive 
to  heaven,  but  as  he  is  immortal,  no  harm  can  be  inflicted 
on  him. 

At  this  juncture  God  places  the  matter  in  the  hands 
of  Buddha,  who  is  presently  informed  by  the  monkey 
that  God  must  be  deposed  and  that  he,  the  monkey, 
must  for  the  future  reign  in  his  stead.  The  text  now 
runs  as  follows  : — 

"  When  Buddha  heard  these  words,  he  smiled  scorn- 


THE  HSI  YU  CHI  283 

fully  and  said,  'What !  a  devil-monkey  like  you  to  seize 
the  throne  of  God,  who  from  his  earliest  years  has  been 
trained  to  rule,  and  has  lived  1750  aeons,  each  of  129,600 
years'  duration  !  Think  what  ages  of  apprenticeship  he 
had  to  serve  before  he  could  reach  this  state  of  perfect 
wisdom.  You  are  only  a  brute  beast ;  what  mean  these 
boastful  words  ?  Be  off,  and  utter  no  more  such,  lest 
evil  befall,  and  your  very  existence  be  imperilled.' 

"'Although  he  is  older  than  I  am,'  cried  the  monkey, 
'that  is  no  reason  why  he  should  always  have  the  post. 
Tell  him  to  get  out  and  give  up  his  place  to  me,  or  I  will 
know  the  reason  why.' 

" '  What  abilities  have  you,'  asked  Buddha,  '  that 
you  should  claim  the  divine  palace  ? ' 

"'Plenty,'  replied  the  monkey.  'I  can  change  myself 
into  seventy-two  shapes ;  I  am  immortal ;  and  I  can  turn 
a  somersault  to  a  distance  of  18,000  //'  (=6000  miles). 
Am  I  not  fit  to  occupy  the  throne  of  heaven  ?' 

" '  Well/  aswered  Buddha,  '  I  will  make  a  wager  with 
you.  If  you  can  jump  out  of  my  hand,  I  will  request 
God  to  depart  to  the  West  and  leave  heaven  to  you  ; 
but  if  you  fail,  you  will  go  down  again  to  earth  and  be  a 
devil  for  another  few  aeons  to  come.' 

"The  monkey  readily  agreed  to  this,  pointing  out  that 
he  could  easily  jump  18,000  It,  and  that  Buddha's  hand 
was  not  even  a  foot  long.  So  after  making  Buddha  pro- 
mise to  carry  out  the  agreement,  he  grasped  his  sceptre 
and  diminished  in  size  until  he  could  stand  in  the  hand, 
which  was  stretched  out  for  him  like  a  lotus-leaf.  'I'm 
off  ! '  he  cried,  and  in  a  moment  he  was  gone.  But 
Buddha's  enlightened  gaze  was  ever  upon  him,  though 
he  turned  with  the  speed  of  a  whirligig. 

"  In  a  brief  space    the  monkey  had  reached  a  place 


284  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

where  there  were  five  red  pillars,  and  there  he  decided 
to  stop.  Reflecting,  however,  that  he  had  better  leave 
some  trace  as  a  proof  of  his  visit,  he  plucked  out  a  hair, 
and  changing  it  into  a  pencil,  wrote  with  it  on  the  middle 
pillar  in  large  characters,  The  Great  Holy  One  of  All  the 
Heavens  reached  this  point.  The  next  moment  he  was 
back  again  in  Buddha's  hand,  describing  his  jump,  and 
claiming  his  reward. 

" '  Ah  ! '  said  Buddha,  '  I  knew  you  couldn't  do  it.' 

" '  Why/  said  the  monkey,  '  I  have  been  to  the  very 
confines  of  the  universe,  and  have  left  a  mark  there 
which  I  challenge  you  to  inspect.' 

'"There  is  no  need  to  go  so  far/  replied  Buddha. 
'  Just  bend  your  head  and  look  here.' 

"The  monkey  bent  down  his  head,  and  there,  on 
Buddha's  middle  finger,  he  read  the  following  inscrip- 
tion :  The  Great  Holy  One  of  All  the  Heavens  reached  this 
point" 

Ultimately,  the  monkey  is  converted  to  the  true  faith, 
and  undertakes  to  escort  Hsiian  Tsang  on  his  journey 
to  the  West.  In  his  turn  he  helps  to  convert  a  pig-bogey, 
whom  he  first  vanquishes  by  changing  himself  into  a 
pill,  which  the  pig-bogey  unwittingly  swallows,  thereby 
giving  its  adversary  a  chance  of  attacking  it  from  inside. 
These  two  are  joined  by  a  colourless  individual,  said  to 
represent  the  passive  side  of  man's  nature,  as  the  monkey 
and  pig  represent  the  active  and  animal  sides  respec- 
tively. The  three  of  them  conduct  Hsiian  Tsang  through 
manifold  dangers  and  hairbreadth  escapes  safe,  until  at 
length  they  receive  final  directions  from  an  Immortal 
as  to  the  position  of  the  palace  of  Buddha,  from  which 
they  hope  to  obtain  the  coveted  books.  The  scene 
which  follows  almost  recalls  The  Pilgrims  Progress : — 


THE  HSI  YU  CHI  285 

"  Hsiian  Tsang  accordingly  bade  him  farewell  and 
proceeded  on  his  way.  But  he  had  not  gone  more  than 
a  mile  or  two  before  he  came  to  a  stream  of  rushing 
water  about  a  league  in  breadth,  with  not  a  trace  of  any 
living  being  in  sight.  At  this  he  was  somewhat  startled, 
and  turning  to  Wu-k'ung  (the  name  of  the  monkey) 
said,  '  Our  guide  must  surely  have  misdirected  us.  Look 
at  that  broad  and  boiling  river  ;  how  shall  we  ever  get 
across  without  a  boat  ? '  '  There  is  a  bridge  over  there,' 
cried  Wu-k'ung,  '  which  you  must  cross  over  in  order 
to  complete  your  salvation.'  At  this  Hsiian  Tsang 
and  the  others  advanced  in  the  direction  indicated,  and 
saw  by  the  side  of  the  bridge  a  notice-board  on  which 
was  written,  'The  Heavenly  Ford.'  Now  the  bridge 
itself  consisted  of  a  simple  plank ;  on  which  Hsiian 
Tsang  remarked,  '  I  am  not  going  to  trust  myself  to  that 
frail  and  slippery  plank  to  cross  that  wide  and  rapid 
stream.  Let  us  try  somewhere  else.'  '  But  this  is  the 
true  path/  said  Wu-k'ung  ;  '  just  wait  a  moment  and  see 
me  go  across.'  Thereupon  he  jumped  on  to  the  bridge, 
and  ran  along  the  shaky  vibrating  plank  until  he  reached 
the  other  side,  where  he  stood  shouting  out  to  the  rest 
to  come  on.  But  Hsiian  Tsang  waved  his  hand  in  the 
negative,  while  his  companions  stood  by  biting  their 
ringers  and  crying  out,  '  We  can't !  we  can't  !  we  can't ! ' 
So  Wu-k'ung  ran  back,  and  seizing  Pa-chieh  (the  pig) 
by  the  arm,  began  dragging  him  to  the  bridge,  all  the 
time  calling  him  a  fool  for  his  pains.  Pa-chieh  then 
threw  himself  on  the  ground,  roaring  out,  '  It's  too 
slippery — it's  too  slippery.  I  can't  do  it.  Spare  me  ! 
spare  me  ! '  '  You  must  cross  by  this  bridge/  replied 
Wu-k'ung,  '  if  you  want  to  become  a  Buddha ; '  at 
which  Pa-chieh  said,  'Then  I  can't  be  a  Buddha,  sir. 


286  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

I  have  done  with  it  :  I  shall  never  get  across  that 
bridge.' 

"  While  these  two  were  in  the  middle  of  their  dispute, 
lo  and  behold  a  boat  appeared  in  sight,  with  a  man 
punting  it  along,  and  calling  out,  '  The  ferry  !  the  ferry  ! ' 
At  this  Hsiian  Tsang  was  overjoyed,  and  shouted  to  his 
disciples  that  they  would  now  be  able  to  get  across. 
By  his  fiery  pupil  and  golden  iris,  Wu-k'ung  knew  that 
the  ferryman  was  no  other  than  Namo  Pao-chang- 
kuang-wang  Buddha ;  but  he  kept  his  knowledge  to 
himself,  and  hailed  the  boat  to  take  them  on  board.  In 
a  moment  it  was  alongside  the  bank,  when,  to  his  un- 
utterable horror,  Hsuan  Tsang  discovered  that  the  boat 
had  no  bottom,  and  at  once  asked  the  ferryman  how  he 
proposed  to  take  them  across.  '  My  boat,'  replied  the 
ferryman,  '  has  been  famed  since  the  resolution  of  chaos 
into  order,  and  under  my  charge  has  known  no  change. 
Steady  though  storms  may  rage  and  seas  may  roll,  there 
is  no  fear  so  long  as  the  passenger  is  light.  Free  from 
the  dust  of  mortality,  the  passage  is  easy  enough.  Ten 
thousand  kalpas  of  human  beings  pass  over  in  peace. 
A  bottomless  ship  can  hardly  cross  the  great  ocean  ; 
yet  for  ages  past  I  have  ferried  over  countless  hosts  of 
passengers.' 

"  When  he  heard  these  words  Wu-k'ung  cried  out, 
'  Master,  make  haste  on  board.  This  boat,  although 
bottomless,  is  safe  enough,  and  no  wind  or  sea  could 
overset  it.'  And  while  Hsiian  Tsang  was  still  hesitating, 
Wu-k'ung  pushed  him  forwards  on  to  the  bridge  ;  but 
the  former  could  not  keep  his  feet,  and  fell  head  over 
heels  into  the  water,  from  which  he  was  immediately 
rescued  by  the  ferryman,  who  dragged  him  on  board 
the  boat.  The  rest  also  managed,  with  the  aid  of  Wu- 


THE  HSI  YU  CHI  287 

k'ung,  to  scramble  on  board ;  and  then,  as  the  ferryman 
shoved  off,  lo !  they  beheld  a  dead  body  floating  away 
down  the  stream.  Hsiian  Tsang  was  greatly  alarmed  at 
this  ;  but  Wu-k'ung  laughed  and  said,  '  Fear  not,  Master  ; 
that  dead  body  is  your  old  self ! '  And  all  the  others 
joined  in  the  chorus  of  '  It  is  you,  sir,  it  is  you  ; '  and 
even  the  ferryman  said,  '  Yes,  it  is  you  ;  accept  my  best 
congratulations.' 

"  A  few  moments  more  and  the  stream  was  crossed, 
when  they  all  jumped  on  shore  ;  but  before  they  could 
look  round  the  boat  and  ferryman  had  disappeared." 

The  story  ends  with  a  list  of  the  Buddhist  sfitras  and 
liturgies  which  the  travellers  were  allowed  to  carry  back 
with  them  to  their  own  country. 


BOOK   THE   SEVENTH 
THE  MING  DYNASTY  (A.D.  1368-1644) 


BOOK  THE  SEVENTH 
THE  MING  DYNASTY  (A.D.  1368-1644) 

CHAPTER   I 

MISCELLANEOUS  LITERATURE— MATERIA 

MEDICA— ENCYCLOPAEDIA  OF 

AGRICULTURE 

TlfE  first  Emperor  of  the  Ming  dynasty,  popularly  known 
as  the  Beggar  King,  in  allusion  to  the  poverty  of  his 
early  days,  so  soon  as  he  had  extinguished  the  last  hopes 
of  the  Mongols  and  had  consolidated  his  power,  turned 
his  attention  to  literature  and  education.  He  organised 
the  great  system  of  competitive  examinations  which  pre- 
vails at  the  present  day.  He  also  published  a  Penal 
Code,  abolishing  such  punishments  as  mutilation,  and 
drew  up  a  kind  of  Domesday  Book,  under  which  taxation 
was  regulated.  In  1369  he  appointed  SUNG  LIEN  (A.D. 
1310-1381),  in  conjunction  with  other  scholars,  to  pro- 
duce the  History  of  the  Mongol  Dynasty.  Sung  Lien  had 
previously  been  tutor  to  the  heir  apparent.  He  had 
declined  office,  and  was  leading  the  life  of  a  simple 
student  He  rose  to  be  President  of  the  Han-lin  College, 
and  for  many  years  enjoyed  his  master's  confidence.  A 
grandson,  however,  became  mixed  up  in  a  conspiracy,  and 


292  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

only  the  Empress's  entreaties  saved  the  old  man's  life. 
His  sentence  was  commuted  to  banishment,  and  he  died 
on  the  journey.  Apart  from  the  history  above  men- 
tioned, and  a  pronouncing  dictionary  on  which  he  was 
employed,  his  literary  remains  fill  only  three  volumes. 
The  following  piece  is  a  satire  on  the  neglect  of  men  of 
ability,  which,  according  to  him,  was  a  marked  feature 
of  the  administration  of  the  Mongols : — 

"  T£ng  Pi,  whose  cognomen  was  Po-i,  was  a  man  of 
Ch'in.  He  was  seven  feet  high.  Both  his  eyes  had 
crimson  corners,  and  they  blinked  like  lightning  flashes. 
In  feats  of  strength  he  was  cock  of  the  walk ;  and  once 
when  his  neighbour's  bulls  were  locked  in  fight,  with  a 
blow  of  his  fist  he  broke  the  back  of  one  of  them  and 
sent  it  rolling  on  the  ground.  The  stone  drums  of  the 
town,  which  ten  men  could  not  lift,  he  could  carry  about 
in  his  two  hands.  He  was,  however,  very  fond  of  liquor, 
and  given  to  quarrelling  in  his  cups  ;  so  that  when  people 
saw  him  in  this  mood,  they  would  keep  out  of  his  way, 
saying  that  it  was  safer  to  be  at  a  distance  from  such  a 
wild  fellow. 

"  One  day  he  was  drinking  by  himself  in  a  tea-house 
when  two  literati  happened  to  pass  by.  Teng  Pi  tried 
to  make  them  join  him ;  but  they,  having  rather  a  low 
opinion  of  the  giant,  would  not  accept  his  invitation. 
'  Gentlemen,'  cried  he  in  a  rage,  '  if  you  do  not  see  fit  to 
do  as  I  ask,  I  will  make  an  end  of  the  pair  of  you,  and 
then  seek  safety  in  flight.  I  could  not  brook  this  treat- 
ment at  your  hands.' 

"  So  the  two  had  no  alternative  but  to  walk  in.  Teng  Pi 
took  the  place  of  honour  himself,  and  put  his  guests  on 
each  side  of  him.  He  called  for  more  liquor,  and  began 
to  sing  and  make  a  noise.  And  at  last,  when  he  was  well 


SUNG  LIEN  293 

tipsy,  he  threw  off  his  clothes  and  began  to  attitudinise. 
He  drew  a  knife,  and  flung  it  down  with  a  bang  on  the 
table  ;  at  which  the  two  literati,  who  were  aware  of  his 
weakness,  rose  to  take  leave. 

"  '  Stop  ! '  shouted  Teng  Pi,  detaining  them.  '  I  too 
know  something  about  your  books.  What  do  you  mean 
by  treating  me  as  the  spittle  of  your  mouth  ?  If  you  don't 
hurry  up  and  drink,  I  fear  my  temper  will  get  the  better 
of  me.  Meanwhile,  you  shall  ask  me  anything  you  like 
in  the  whole  range  of  classical  literature,  and  if  I  can't 
answer,  I  will  imbrue  this  blade  in  my  blood.' 

"To  this  the  two  literati  agreed,  and  forthwith  gave  him 
a  number  of  the  most  difficult  allusions  they  could  think 
of,  taken  from  the  Classics ;  but  Teng  Pi  was  equal  to 
the  occasion,  and  repeated  the  full  quotation  in  each  case 
without  missing  a  word.  Then  they  tried  him  on  history, 
covering  a  period  of  three  thousand  years  ;  but  here  again 
his  answers  were  distinguished  by  accuracy  and  precision. 

"  '  Ha  !  ha  ! '  laughed  Teng  Pi,  'do  you  give  in  now  ?' 
At  which  his  guests  looked  blankly  at  each  other,  and 
hadn't  a  word  to  say.  So  Teng  Pi  shouted  for  wine,  and 
loosed  his  hair,  and  jumped  about,  crying,  '  I  have 
floored  you,  gentlemen,  to-day  !  Of  old,  learning  made  a 
man  of  you  ;  but  to-day,  all  you  have  to  do  is  to  don  a 
scholar's  dress  and  look  consumptive.  You  care  only  to 
excel  with  pen  and  ink,  and  despise  the  real  heroes  of  the 
age.  Shall  this  be  so  indeed  ?  ' 

"  Now  these  two  literati  were  men  of  some  reputation, 
and  on  hearing  Teng  Pi's  words  they  were  greatly 
shamed,  and  left  the  tea-house,  hardly  knowing  how  to 
put  one  foot  before  the  other.  On  arriving  home  they 
made  further  inquiries,  but  no  one  had  ever  seen  T£ng 
Pi  at  any  time  with  a  book  in  his  hand." 


294  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

FANG  HSIAO-JU  (A.D.  1357-1402)  is  another  scholar,  co- 
worker  with  Sung  Lien,  who  adorned  this  same  period. 
As  a  child  he  was  precocious,  and  by  his  skill  in 
composition  earned  for  himself  the  nickname  of  Little 
Han  Yii.  He  became  tutor  to  one  of  the  Imperial 
princes,  and  was  loaded  with  honours  by  the  second 
Emperor,  who  through  the  death  of  his  father  suc- 
ceeded in  1398  to  his  grandfather.  Then  came  the 
rebellion  of  the  fourth  son  of  the  first  Emperor  ;  and 
when  Nanking  opened  its  gates  to  the  conqueror,  the 
defeated  nephew  vanished.  It  is  supposed  that  he  fled  to 
Yunnan,  in  the  garb  of  a  monk,  left  to  him,  so  the  story 
runs,  with  full  directions  by  his  grandfather.  After 
nearly  forty  years'  wandering,  he  is  said  to  have  gone  to 
Peking,  and  lived  in  seclusion  in  the  palace  until  his 
death.  He  was  recognised  by  a  eunuch  from  a  mole  on 
his  left  foot,  but  the  eunuch  was  afraid  to  reveal  his 
identity.  Fang  Hsiao-ju  absolutely  refused  to  place  his 
services  at  the  disposal  of  the  new  Emperor,  who  ruled 
under  the  year-title  of  Yung  Lo.  For  this  refusal  he  was 
cut  to  pieces  in  the  market-place,  his  family  being  as  far 
as  possible  exterminated  and  his  philosophical  writings 
burned.  A  small  collection  of  his  miscellanies  was  pre- 
served by  a  faithful  disciple,  and  afterwards  republished. 
The  following  is  an  extract  from  an  essay  on  taking  too 
much  thought  for  the  morrow  : — 

"  Statesmen  who  forecast  the  destinies  of  an  empire 
ofttimes  concentrate  their  genius  upon  the  difficult  and 
neglect  the  easy.  They  provide  against  likely  evils,  and 
disregard  combinations  which  yield  no  ground  for  sus- 
picion. Yet  calamity  often  issues  from  neglected  quarters, 
and  sedition  springs  out  of  circumstances  which  have 
been  set  aside  as  trivial.  Must  this  be  regarded  as  due 


FANG  HSIAO-JU  295 

to  an  absence  of  care  ? — No.  It  results  because  the 
things  that  man  can  provide  against  are  human,  while 
those  that  elude  his  vigilance  and  overpower  his  strength 
are  divine." 

After  giving  several  striking  examples  from  history, 
the  writer  continues : — 

"All  the  instances  above  cited  include  gifted  men 
whose  wisdom  and  genius  overshadowed  their  genera- 
tion. They  took  counsel  and  provided  against  disruption 
of  the  empire  with  the  utmost  possible  care.  Yet  mis- 
fortune fell  upon  every  one  of  them,  always  issuing  from 
some  source  where  its  existence  was  least  suspected. 
This,  because  human  wisdom  reaches  only  to  human 
affairs  and  cannot  touch  the  divine.  Thus,  too,  will 
sickness  carry  off  the  children  even  of  the  best  doctors, 
and  devils  play  their  pranks  in  the  family  of  an  exorcist. 
How  is  it  that  these  professors,  who  succeed  in  grappling 
with  the  cases  of  others,  yet  fail  in  treating  their  own  ? 
It  is  because  in  those  they  confine  themselves  to  the 
human  ;  in  these  they  would  meddle  with  the  divine. 

"The  men  of  old  knew  that  it  was  impossible  to 
provide  infallibly  against  the  convulsions  of  ages  to 
come.  There  was  no  plan,  no  device,  by  which  they 
could  hope  to  prevail,  and  they  refrained  accordingly 
from  vain  scheming.  They  simply  strove  by  the  force 
of  Truth  and  Virtue  to  win  for  themselves  the  approba- 
tion of  God ;  that  He,  in  reward  for  their  virtuous 
conduct,  might  watch  over  them,  as  a  fond  mother 
watches  over  her  babes,  for  ever.  Thus,  although  fools 
were  not  wanting  to  their  posterity — fools  able  to  drag 
an  empire  to  the  dust — still,  the  evil  day  was  deferred. 
This  was  indeed  foresight  of  a  far-reaching  kind. 

"  But    he   who,  regardless  of   the  favour  of    Heaven, 


296  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

may  hope  by  the  light  of  his  own  petty  understanding  to 
establish  that  which  shall  endure  through  all  time — he 
shall  be  confounded  indeed." 

The  third  Emperor  of  this  dynasty,  whose  nephew, 
the  reigning  Emperor,  disappeared  so  mysteriously, 
mounted  the  throne  in  1403.  A  worthy  son  of  his  father 
as  regarded  his  military  and  political  abilities,  he  was  a 
still  more  enthusiastic  patron  of  literature.  He  caused 
to  be  compiled  what  is  probably  the  most  gigantic 
encyclopaedia  ever  known,  the  Yung  Lo  Ta  Tien,  to 
produce  which  2169  scholars  laboured  for  about  three 
years  under  the  guidance  of  five  chief  directors  and 
twenty  sub-directors.  Judging  from  the  account  pub- 
lished in  1795,  it  must  have  run  to  over  500,000  pages. 
It  was  never  printed  because  of  the  cost  of  the  block- 
cutting  ;  but  under  a  subsequent  reign  two  extra  copies 
were  taken,  and  one  of  these,  imperfect  to  the  extent  of 
about  20,000  pages,  is  still  in  the  Han-lin  College  at 
Peking.1  The  others  perished  by  fire  at  the  fall  of  the 
Ming  dynasty.  Not  only  did  this  encyclopaedia  embrace 
and  illustrate  the  whole  range  of  Chinese  literature,  but 
it  included  many  complete  works  which  would  otherwise 
have  been  lost.  Of  these,  no  fewer  than  66  on  the  Con- 
fucian Canon,  41  on  history,  103  on  philosophy,  and  175 
on  poetry  were  copied  out  and  inserted  in  the  Imperial 
Library. 

Many   names   of    illustrious   scholars    must   here,  as 

1  On  the  23rd  June  1900,  almost  while  these  words  were  being  written,  the 
Han-lin  College  was  burnt  to  the  ground.  The  writer's  youngest  son,  Mr. 
Lancelot  Giles,  who  went  through  the  siege  of  Peking,  writes  as  follows : — 
"An  attempt  was  made  to  save  the  famous  Yung  Lo  Ta  Tien,  but  heaps  of 
volumes  had  been  destroyed,  so  the  attempt  was  given  up.  I  secured  vol. 
13.345  for  myself." 


YANG  CHI-SHENG  297 

indeed  throughout  this  volume,  be  passed  over  in 
silence.  Such  writers  are  more  than  compensated 
by  the  honour  they  receive  from  their  own  country- 
men, who  place  classical  scholarship  at  the  very  summit 
of  human  ambitions,  and  rank  the  playwright  and 
the  novelist  as  mere  parasites  of  literature.  Between 
these  two  extremes  there  is  always  to  be  found  a  great 
deal  of  general  writing,  which,  while  it  satisfies  the 
fastidious  claim  of  the  Chinese  critic  for  form  in  pre- 
ference even  to  matter,  is  also  of  sufficient  interest  for 
the  European  reader. 

YANG  CHI-SH^NG  (1515-1556)  was  a  statesman  and  a 
patriot,  who  had  been  a  cowherd  in  his  youth.  He  first 
got  himself  into  trouble  by  opposing  the  establishment 
of  a  horse-market  on  the  frontier,  between  China  and 
Tartary,  as  menacing  the  safety  of  his  country.  Restored 
to  favour  after  temporary  degradation,  he  impeached  a 
colleague,  now  known  as  the  worst  of  the  Six  Traitorous 
Ministers  of  the  Ming  dynasty.  His  adversary  was  too 
strong  for  him.  Yang  was  sent  to  prison,  and  three 
years  later  his  head  fell.  His  name  has  no  place  in 
literature  ;  nor  would  it  be  mentioned  here  except  as  an 
introduction  to  an  impassioned  memorial  which  his  wife 
addressed  to  the  Emperor  on  her  husband's  behalf : — 

"  May  it  please  your  Majesty, — My  husband  was  chief 
Minister  in  the  Cavalry  Department  ot  the  Board  of  War. 
Because  he  advised  your  Majesty  against  the  establish- 
ment of  a  tradal  mart,  hoping  to  prevent  Ch'ou  Luan 
from  carrying  out  his  design,  he  was  condemned  only 
to  a  mild  punishment ;  and  then,  when  the  latter  suf- 
fered defeat,  he  was  restored  to  favour  and  to  his  former 
honours.. 


298  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

"Thereafter,  my  husband  was  for  ever  seeking  to  make 
some  return  for  the  Imperial  clemency.  He  would 
deprive  himself  of  sleep.  He  would  abstain  from  food. 
All  this  I  saw  with  my  own  eyes.  By  and  by,  however, 
he  gave  ear  to  some  idle  rumour  of  the  market-place,  and 
the  old  habit  came  strong  upon  him.  He  lost  his  mental 
balance.  He  uttered  wild  statements,  and  again  incurred 
the  displeasure  of  the  Throne.  Yet  he  was  not  slain 
forthwith.  His  punishment  was  referred  to  the  Board. 
He  was  beaten ;  he  was  thrown  into  prison.  Several 
times  he  nearly  died.  His  flesh  was  hollowed  out  be- 
neath the  scourge ;  the  sinews  of  his  legs  were  severed. 
Blood  flowed  from  him  in  bowlfuls,  splashing  him  from 
head  to  foot.  Confined  day  and  night  in  a  cage,  he 
endured  the  utmost  misery. 

"  Then  our  crops  failed,  and  daily  food  was  wanting  in 
our  poverty-stricken  home.  I  strove  to  earn  money  by 
spinning,  and  worked  hard  for  the  space  of  three  years, 
during  which  period  the  Board  twice  addressed  the 
Throne,  receiving  on  each  occasion  an  Imperial  rescript 
that  my  husband  was  to  await  his  fate  in  gaol.  But 
now  I  hear  your  Majesty  has  determined  that  my 
husband  shall  die,  in  accordance  with  the  statutes  of  the 
Empire.  Die  as  he  may,  his  eyes  will  close  in  peace 
with  your  Majesty,  while  his  soul  seeks  the  realms  below. 

•'Yet  I  know  that  your  Majesty  has  a  humane  and 
kindly  heart ;  and  when  the  creeping  things  of  the  earth, 
— nay,  the  very  trees  and  shrubs, — share  in  the  national 
tranquillity,  it  is  hard  to  think  that  your  Majesty  would 
grudge  a  pitying  glance  upon  our  fallen  estate.  And 
should  we  be  fortunate  enough  to  attract  the  Imperial 
favour  to  our  lowly  affairs,  that  would  be  joy  indeed. 
But  if  my  husband's  crime  is  of  too  deep  a  dye,  I 


SHEN  su  299 

humbly  beg  that  my  head  may  pay  the  penalty,  and  that 
I  be  permitted  to  die  for  him.  Then,  from  the  far-off 
hind  of  spirits,  myself  brandishing  spear  and  shield,  I  will 
lead  forth  an  army  of  fierce  hobgoblins  to  do  battle  in 
your  Majesty's  behalf,  and  thus  make  some  return  for 
this  act  of  Imperial  grace." 

"  The  force  of  language,"  says  the  commentator,  "  can 
no  farther  go."  Yet  this  memorial,  "  the  plaintive  tones 
of  which,"  he  adds,  "  appeal  direct  to  the  heart,"  was 
never  allowed  to  reach  the  Emperor.  Twelve  years 
later,  the  Minister  impeached  by  Yang  Chi-sheng  was 
dismissed  for  scandalous  abuse  of  power,  and  had  all  his 
property  confiscated.  Being  reduced  to  beggary,  he 
received  from  the  Emperor  a  handsome  silver  bowl  in 
which  to  collect  alms  ;  but  so  universally  hated  was  he 
that  no  one  would  either  give  him  anything  or  venture 
to  buy  the  bowl,  and  he  died  of  starvation  while  still  in 
the  possession  of  wealth. 

* 

A  curiously  similar  case,  with  a  happier  ending,  was 
that  of  SHEN  Su,  who,  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as 
Censor,  also  denounced  the  same  Minister,  before  whose 
name  the  word  "traitorous"  is  now  always  inserted. 
Shen  Su  was  thrown  into  prison,  and  remained  there 
for  fifteen  years.  He  was  released  in  consequence 
of  the  following  memorial  by  his  wife,  of  which  the 
commentator  says,  "  for  every  drop  of  ink  a  drop  of 
blood  "  : — 

"  May  it  please  your  Majesty, — My  husband  was  a 
Censor  attached  to  the  Board  of  Rites.  For  his  folly  in 
recklessly  advising  your  Majesty,  he  deserved  indeed  a 
thousand  deaths  ;  yet  under  the  Imperial  clemency  he 
was  doomed  only  to  await  his  sentence  in  prison. 


300  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

"Since  then  fourteen  years  have  passed  away.  His 
aged  parents  are  still  alive,  but  there  are  no  children  in 
his  hall,  and  the  wretched  man  has  none  on  whom  he  can 
rely.  I  alone  remain — a  lodger  at  an  inn,  working  day 
and  night  at  my  needle  to  provide  the  necessaries  of  life  ; 
encompassed  on  all  sides  by  difficulties  ;  to  whom  every 
day  seems  a  year. 

"My  father-in-law  is  eighty-seven  years  of  age.  He 
trembles  on  the  brink  of  the  grave.  He  is  like  a  candle 
in  the  wind.  I  have  naught  wherewith  to  nourish  him 
alive  or  to  honour  him  when  dead.  I  am  a  lone 
woman.  If  I  tend  the  one,  I  lose  the  other.  If  I  return 
to  my  father-in-law,  my  husband  will  die  of  starvation. 
If  I  remain  to  feed  him,  my  father-in-law  may  die  at  any 
hour.  My  husband  is  a  criminal  bound  in  gaol.  He  dares 
give  no  thought  to  his  home.  Yet  can  it  be  that  when 
all  living  things  are  rejoicing  in  life  under  the  wise  and 
generous  rule  of  to-day,  we  alone  should  taste  the  cup  of 
poverty  and  distress,  and  find  ourselves  beyond  the  pale 
of  universal  peace  ? 

"  Oft,  as  I  think  of  these  things,  the  desire  to  die  comes 
upon  me  ;  but  I  swallow  my  grief  and  live  on,  trusting  in 
Providence  for  some  happy  termination,  some  moisten- 
ing with  the  dew  of  Imperial  grace.  And  now  that  my 
father-in-law  is  face  to  face  with  death  ;  now  that  my 
husband  can  hardly  expect  to  live — I  venture  to  offer 
this  body  as  a  hostage,  to  be  bound  in  prison,  while  my 
husband  returns  to  watch  over  the  last  hours  of  his 
father.  Then,  when  all  is  over,  he  will  resume  his  place 
and  await  your  Majesty's  pleasure.  Thus  my  husband 
will  greet  his  father  once  again,  and  the  feelings  of 
father  and  child  will  be  in  some  measure  relieved. 
Thus  I  shall  give  to  my  father-in-law  the  comfort  of  his 


TSUNG  CH'fcN  301 

son,  and  the  duty  of  a  wife  towards  her  husband  will 
be  fulfilled." 

TSUNG  CH'^N  gained  some  distinction  during  this  six- 
teenth century  ;  in  youth,  by  his  great  beauty,  and  especi- 
ally by  his  eyes,  which  were  said  to  flash  fire  even  at  the 
sides  ;  later  on,  by  subscribing  to  the  funeral  expenses 
of  the  above-mentioned  Yang  Chi-sheng  ;  and  finally,  by 
his  successful  defence  of  Foochow  against  the  Japanese, 
whose  forces  he  enticed  into  the  city  by  a  feint  of 
surrender,  and  then  annihilated  from  the  walls.  The 
following  piece,  which,  in  the  opinion  of  the  com- 
mentator, "  verges  upon  trifling,"  is  from  his  corre- 
spondence. Several  sentences  of  it  have  quite  a 
Juvenalian  ring : — 

"  I  was  very  glad  at  this  distance  to  receive  your  letter, 
which  quite  set  my  mind  at  rest,  together  with  the 
present  you  were  so  kind  as  to  add.  I  thank  you  very 
much  for  your  good  wishes,  and  especially  for  your 
thoughtful  allusion  to  my  father. 

"  As  to  what  you  are  pleased  to  say  in  reference  to 
official  popularity  and  fitness  for  office,  I  am  much 
obliged  by  your  remarks.  Of  my  unfitness  I  am  only 
too  well  aware  ;  while  as  to  popularity  with  my  supe- 
riors, I  am  utterly  unqualified  to  secure  that  boon. 

"  How  indeed  does  an  official  find  favour  in  the 
present  day  with  his  chief  ?  Morning  and  evening  he 
must  whip  up  his  horse  and  go  dance  attendance  at  the 
great  man's  door.  If  the  porter  refuses  to  admit  him, 
then  honeyed  words,  a  coaxing  air,  and  money  drawn 
from  the  sleeve,  may  prevail.  The  porter  takes  in  hia 
card  ;  but  the  great  man  does  not  come  out.  So  he 
waits  in  the  stable  among  grooms,  until  his  clothes  are 


302  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

charged  with  the  smell,  in  spite  of  hunger,  in  spite  of 
cold,  in  spite  of  a  blazing  heat.  At  nightfall,  the  porter 
who  has  pocketed  the  money  comes  forth  and  says  his 
master  is  tired  and  begs  to  be  excused,  and  will  he  call 
again  next  day.  So  he  is  forced  to  come  once  more  as 
requested.  He  sits  all  night  in  his  clothes.  At  cock- 
crow he  jumps  up,  performs  his  toilette,  and  gallops  off 
and  knocks  at  the  entrance  gate.  '  Who's  there  ? ' 
shouts  the  porter  angrily  ;  and  when  he  explains,  the 
porter  gets  still  more  angry  and  begins  to  abuse  him, 
saying,  'You  are  in  a  fine  hurry,  you  are  !  Do  you 
think  my  master  sees  people  at  this  hour  ? '  Then  is 
the  visitor  shamed,  but  has  to  swallow  his  wrath  and  try 
to  persuade  the  porter  to  let  him  in.  And  the  porter, 
another  fee  to  the  good,  gets  up  and  lets  him  in  ;  and 
then  he  waits  again  in  the  stable  as  before,  until  perhaps 
the  great  man  comes  out  and  summons  him  to  an 
audience. 

"  Now,  with  many  an  obeisance,  he  cringes  timidly 
towards  the  foot  of  the  dais  steps ;  and  when  the  great 
man  says  'Come!'  he  prostrates  himself  twice  and 
remains  long  without  rising.  At  length  he  goes  up  to 
offer  his  present,  which  the  great  man  refuses.  He 
entreats  acceptance  ;  but  in  vain.  He  implores,  with 
many  instances ;  whereupon  the  great  man  bids  a 
servant  take  it.  Then  two  more  prostrations,  long 
drawn  out ;  after  which  he  arises,  and  with  five  or  six 
salutations  he  takes  his  leave. 

"  On  going  forth,  he  bows  to  the  porter,  saying,  '  It's 
all  right  with  your  master.  Next  time  I  come  you  need 
make  no  delay.'  The  porter  returns  the  bow,  well 
pleased  with  his  share  in  the  business.  Meanwhile,  our 
friend  springs  on  his  horse,  and  when  he  meets  an 


WANG  TAO-K'UN  303 

f 
acquaintance  flourishes  his  whip  and  cries  out,  '  1  have 

just  been  with  His  Excellency.  He  treated  me  very 
kindly,  very  kindly  indeed.'  And  then  he  goes  into 
detail,  upon  which  his  friends  begin  to  be  more  respect- 
ful to  him  as  a  prottgt  of  His  Excellency.  The  great 
man  himself  says,  '  So-and-so  is  a  good  fellow,  a  very 
good  fellow  indeed;'  upon  which  the  bystanders  of 
course  declare  that  they  think  so  too. 

"  Such  is  popularity  with  one's  superiors  in  the  pre- 
sent day.  Do  you  think  that  I  could  be  as  one  of  these? 
No  !  Beyond  sending  in  a  complimentary  card  at  the 
summer  and  winter  festivals,  I  do  not  go  near  the  great 
from  one  year's  end  to  another.  Even  when  I  pass  their 
doors  I  stuff  my  ears  and  cover  my  eyes,  and  gallop 
quickly  by,  as  if  some  one  was  after  me.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  want  of  breadth,  I  am  of  course  no 
favourite  with  the  authorities  ;  but  what  care  I  ?  There 
is  a  destiny  that  shapes  our  ends,  and  it  has  shaped  mine 
towards  the  path  of  duty  alone.  For  which,  no  doubt, 
you  think  me  an  ass." 

WANG  TAO-K'UN  took  his  third  degree  in  1547.  His 
instincts  seemed  to  be  all  for  a  soldier's  life,  and  he  rose 
to  be  a  successful  commander.  He  found  ample  time, 
however,  for  books,  and  came  to  occupy  an  honourable 
place  among  contemporary  writers.  His  works,  which, 
according  to  one  critic,  are  "  polished  in  style  and  lofty 
in  tone,"  have  been  published  in  a  uniform  edition,  and 
are  still  read.  The  following  is  a  cynical  skit  upon  the 
corruption  of  his  day  : — 

"  A  retainer  was  complaining  to  Po  Tzu  that  no  one 
in  the  district  knew  how  to  get  on. 

"  '  You  gentlemen,1  said  he,  '  are  like  square  handles 


304  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

which  you  would  thrust  into  the  round  sockets  of  your 
generation.  Consequently,  there  is  not  one  of  you  which 
fits.' 

"  '  You  speak  truth,'  replied  Po  Tzu  ;  '  kindly  explain 
how  this  is  so.' 

" '  There  are  five  reasons,'  said  the  retainer,  '  why  you 
are  at  loggerheads  with  the  age,  as  follows  : — 

" '  (i)  The  path  to  popularity  lies  straight  before  you, 
but  you  will  not  follow  it. 

"  '  (2)  Other  men's  tongues  reach  the  soft  places  in 
the  hearts  of  their  superiors,  but  your  tongues  are  too 
short. 

"  '  (3)  Others  eschew  fur  robes,  and  approach  with 
bent  backs  as  if  their  very  clothes  were  too  heavy  for 
them  ;  but  you  remain  as  stiff-necked  as  planks. 

"  '  (4)  Others  respond  even  before  they  are  called,  and 
seek  to  anticipate  the  wishes  of  their  superiors  ;  whose 
enemies,  were  they  the  saints  above,  would  not  escape 
abuse ;  whose  friends,  were  they  highwaymen  and 
thieves,  would  be  larded  over  with  praise.  But  you — 
you  stick  at  facts  and  express  opinions  adverse  to  those 
of  your  superiors,  whom  it  is  your  special  interest  to 
conciliate. 

" '  (5)  Others  make  for  gain  as  though  bent  upon 
shooting  a  pheasant,  watching  in  secret  and  letting  fly 
with  care,  so  that  nothing  escapes  their  aim.  But  you— 
you  hardly  bend  your  bow,  or  bend  it  only  to  miss  the 
quarry  that  lies  within  your  reach. 

"  '  One  of  these  five  failings  is  like  a  tumour  hanging 
to  you  and  impeding  your  progress  in  life.  How  much 
more  all  of  them  !' 

"  '  It  is  indeed  as  you  state/  answered  Po  Tzu.  'But 
would  you  bid  me  cut  these  tumours  away  ?  A  man 


HSU  HSIEH  305 

may  have  a  tumour  and  live.  To  cut  it  off  is  to  die. 
And  life  with  a  tumour  is  better  than  death  without. 
Besides,  beauty  is  a  natural  gift  ;  and  the  woman  who 
tried  to  look  like  Hsi  Shih  only  succeeded  in  frightening 
people  out  of  their  wits  by  her  ugliness.  Now  it  is  my 
misfortune  to  have  these  tumours,  which  make  me  more 
loathsome  even  than  that  woman.  Still,  I  can  always, 
so  to  speak,  stick  to  my  needle  and  my  cooking-pots, 
and  strive  to  make  my  good  man  happy.  There  is  no 
occasion  for  me  to  proclaim  my  ugliness  in  the  market- 
place.' 

" '  Ah,  sir,'  said  the  retainer,  '  now  I  know  why  there 
are  so  many  ugly  people  about,  and  so  little  beauty  in 
the  land.'  " 

Hsu  HSIEH  graduated  as  Senior  Classic  in  1601,  and 
received  an  appointment  in  the  Han-lin  College,  where 
all  kinds  of  State  documents  are  prepared  under  the 
superintendence  of  eminent  scholars.  Dying  young,  he 
left  behind  him  the  reputation  of  a  cross-grained  man, 
with  whom  it  was  difficult  to  get  along,  ardently  devoted 
to  study.  He  swore  that  if  it  were  granted  to  him  to 
acquire  a  brilliant  style,  he  would  jump  into  the  sea  to 
circulate  his  writings.  The  following  piece  is  much 
admired.  "  It  is  completed,"  says  a  commentator,  "with 
the  breath  of  a  yawn  (with  a  single  effort),  and  is  like  a 
heavenly  robe,  without  seam.  The  reader  looks  in  vain 
for  paragraphing  in  this  truly  inspired  piece  "  : — 

"  For  some  years  I  had  possessed  an  old  inkstand,  left 
at  my  house  by  a  friend.  It  came  into  ordinary  use  as 
such,  I  being  unaware  that  it  was  an  antique.  However, 
one  day  a  connoisseur  told  me  it  was  at  least  a  thousand 
years  old,  and  urged  me  to  preserve  it  carefully  as  a 


306  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

valuable  relic.  This  I  did,  but  never  took  any  further 
trouble  to  ascertain  whether  such  was  actually  the  case 
or  not.  For  supposing  that  this  inkstand  really  dated 
from  the  period  assigned,  its  then  owner  must  have 
regarded  it  simply  as  an  inkstand.  He  could  not  have 
known  that  it  was  destined  to  survive  the  wreck  of  time 
and  to  come  to  be  cherished  as  an  antique.  And  while 
we  prize  it  now,  because  it  has  descended  to  us  from  a 
distant  past,  we  forget  that  then,  when  antiques  were 
relics  of  a  still  earlier  period,  it  could  not  have  been  of 
any  value  to  antiquarians,  themselves  the  moderns  of 
what  is  antiquity  to  us  !  The  surging  crowd  around  us 
thinks  of  naught  but  the  acquisition  of  wealth  and  mate- 
rial enjoyment,  occupied  only  with  the  struggle  for  place 
and  power.  Men  lift  their  skirts  and  hurry  through  the 
mire  ;  they  suffer  indignity  and  feel  no  sense  of  shame. 
And  if  from  out  this  mass  there  arises  one  spirit  purer 
and  simpler  than  the  rest,  striving  to  tread  a  nobler  path 
than  they,  and  amusing  his  leisure,  for  his  own  gratifica- 
tion, with  guitars,  and  books,  and  pictures,  and  other 
relics  of  olden  times, — such  a  man  is  indeed  a  genuine 
lover  of  the  antique.  He  can  never  be  one  of  the 
common  herd,  though  the  common  herd  always  affect 
to  admire  whatever  is  admittedly  admirable.  In  the 
same  way,  persons  who  aim  at  advancement  in  their 
career  will  spare  no  endeavour  to  collect  the  choicest 
rarities,  in  order,  by  such  gifts,  to  curry  favour  with  their 
superiors,  who  in  their  turn  will  take  pleasure  in  osten- 
tatious display  of  their  collections  of  antiquities.  Such 
is  but  a  specious  hankering  after  antiques,  arising  simply 
from  a  desire  to  eclipse  one's  neighbours.  Such  men 
are  not  genuine  lovers  of  the  antique.  Their  tastes  are 
those  of  the  common  herd  after  all,  though  they  make  a 


LI  SHIH-CH£N  307 

great  show  and  filch  the  reputation  of  true  antiquarians, 
in  the  hope  of  thus  distinguishing  themselves  from  their 
fellows,  ignorant  as  they  are  that  what  they  secure  is  the 
name  alone  without  the  reality.  The  man  whom  I  call 
a  genuine  antiquarian  is  he  who  studies  the  writings  of 
the  ancients,  and  strives  to  form  himself  upon  their 
model,  though  unable  to  greet  them  in  the  flesh  ;  who 
ever  and  anon,  in  his  wanderings  up  and  down  the  long 
avenue  of  the  past,  lights  upon  some  choice  fragment 
which  brings  him  in  an  instant  face  to  face  with  the 
immortal  dead.  Of  such  enjoyment  there  is  no  satiety. 
Those  who  truly  love  antiquity,  love  not  the  things,  but 
the  men  of  old,  since  a  relic  in  the  present  is  much  what 
it  was  in  the  past, — a  mere  thing.  And  so  if  it  is  not  to 
things,  but  rather  to  men,  that  devotion  is  due,  then  even 
I  may  aspire  to  be  some  day  an  antique.  Who  shall  say 
that  centuries  hence  an  antiquarian  of  the  day  may  not 
look  up  to  me  as  I  have  looked  up  to  my  predecessors  ? 
Should  I  then  neglect  myself,  and  foolishly  devote  my 
energies  to  trifling  with  things  ? 

"  Such  is  popular  enthusiasm  in  these  matters.  It 
is  shadow  without  substance.  But  the  theme  is  end- 
less, and  I  shall  therefore  content  myself  with  a  passing 
record  of  my  old  inkstand." 

This  chapter  may  close  with  the  names  of  two  remark- 
able men.  Li  SHIH-CHEN  completed  in  1578,  after  twenty- 
six  years  of  unremitting  labour,  his  great  Materia  Medica. 
In  1596  the  manuscript  was  laid  before  the  Emperor, 
who  ordered  it  to  be  printed  forthwith.  It  deals  (i)  with 
Inanimate  substances ;  (2)  with  Plants ;  and  (3)  with 
Animals,  and  is  illustrated  by  over  noo  woodcuts.  The 
introductory  chapter  passes  in  review  forty-two  previous 


308  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

works  of  importance  on  the  same  subject,  enumerating 
no  fewer  than  950  miscellaneous  publications  on  a  variety 
of  subjects.  The  famous  "  doctrine  of  signatures,"  which 
supposes  that  the  uses  of  plants  and  substances  are  indi- 
cated to  man  by  certain  appearances  peculiar  to  them, 
figures  largely  in  this  work. 

Hsu  KUANG-CH'I  (1562-1634)  is  generally  regarded  as 
the  only  influential  member  of  the  mandarinate  who  has 
ever  become  a  convert  to  Christianity.  After  graduating 
first  among  the  candidates  for  the  second  degree  in  1597 
and  taking  his  final  degree  in  1604,  he  enrolled  him- 
self as  a  pupil  of  Matteo  Ricci,  and  studied  under  his 
guidance  to  such  purpose  that  he  was  able  to  produce 
works  on  the  new  system  of  astronomy  as  introduced 
by  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  besides  various  treatises  on  mathe- 
matical science.  He  was  also  author  of  an  encyclopaedia 
of  agriculture  of  considerable  value,  first  published  in 
1640.  This  work  is  illustrated  with  numerous  woodcuts, 
and  treats  of  the  processes  and  implements  of  husbandry, 
of  rearing  silkworms,  of  breeding  animals,  of  the  manu- 
facture of  food,  and  even  of  precautions  to  be  taken 
against  famine.  The  Jesuit  Fathers  themselves  scattered 
broadcast  over  China  a  large  number  of  propagandist 
publications,  written  in  polished  book-style,  some  few  of 
which  are  still  occasionally  to  be  found  in  old  book" 
shops. 


CHAPTER  II 

NOVELS  AND  PLAYS 

NOVELS  were  produced  in  considerable  numbers  under 
the  Ming  dynasty,  but  the  names  of  their  writers,  except 
in  a  very  few  cases,  have  not  been  handed  down.  The 
marvellous  work  known  as  the  CHin  Pling  Met,  from  the 
names  of  three  of  the  chief  female  characters,  has  been 
attributed  to  the  grave  scholar  and  statesman,  Wang 
Shih-cheng  (1526-1593);  but  this  is  more  a  guess  than 
anything  else.  So  also  is  the  opinion  that  it  was  pro- 
duced in  the  seventeenth  century,  as  a  covert  satire  upon 
the  morals  of  the  Court  of  the  great  Emperor  K'ang  Hsi. 
The  story  itself  refers  to  the  early  part  of  the  twelfth 
century,  and  is  written  in  a  simple,  easy  style,  closely 
approaching  the  Peking  colloquial.  It  possesses  one 
extraordinary  characteristic.  Many  words  and  phrases 
are  capable  of  two  interpretations,  one  of  which  is  of  a 
class  which  renders  such  passages  unfit  for  ears  polite. 
Altogether  the  book  is  objectionable,  and  would  require 
a  translator  with  the  nerve  of  a  Burton. 

The  Yii  Chiao  Li  is  a  tale  of  the  fifteenth  century  which 
has  found  much  favour  in  the  eyes  of  foreigners,  partly 
because  it  is  of  an  unusually  moderate  length.  The 
ordinary  Chinaman  likes  his  novels  long,  and  does  not 
mind  plenty  of  repetitions  after  the  style  of  Homer, 

109 


3  ic  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

which  latter  feature  seems  to  point  in  the  direction  of 
stories  told  by  word  of  mouth  and  written  down  later 
on,  and  may  be  taken  in  connection  with  the  opinion 
already  expressed,  that  the  Chinese  novel  came  origin- 
ally from  Central  Asia.  Here,  however,  in  four  small 
volumes,  we  have  a  charming  story  of  a  young  graduate 
who  falls  in  love  first  with  a  beautiful  and  accomplished 
poetess,  and  then  with  the  fascinating  sister  of  a  fasci- 
nating friend  whose  acquaintance  —  the  brother's  —  he 
makes  casually  by  the  roadside.  The  friend  and  the 
sister  turn  out  to  be  one  and  the  same  person,  a  very 
lively  girl,  who  appears  in  male  or  female  dress  as 
occasion  may  require  ;  and  what  is  more,  the  latter 
young  lady  turns  out  to  be  the  much-loved  orphan 
cousin  of  the  first  and  still  cherished  young  lady,  and 
also  her  intellectual  equal.  The  graduate  is  madly  in 
love  with  the  two  girls,  and  they  are  irrevocably  in  love 
with  him.  This  is  a  far  simpler  matter  than  it  would  be 
in  Western  countries.  The  hero  marries  both,  and  all 
three  live  happily  ever  afterwards. 

The  Lieh  Kuo  Chuan,  anonymous  as  usual,  is  a 
historical  novel  dealing  with  the  exciting  times  of  the 
Feudal  States,  and  covering  the  period  between  the 
eighth  century  B.C.  and  the  union  of  China  under  the 
First  Emperor.  It  is  introduced  to  the  reader  in  these 
words  : — 

"The  Lieh  Kuo  is  not  like  an  ordinary  novel,  which 
consists  mainly  of  what  is  not  true.  TIius  the  Feng 
Shen  (a  tale  of  the  twelfth  century  B.C.),  the  Shut  Hu, 
the  Hsi  Yu  Chi,  and  others,  are  pure  fabrications. 
Even  the  San  Kuo  Chih,  which  is  very  near  to  truth, 
contains  much  that  is  without  foundation.  Not  so  the 


THE  LIEH   KUO  CHUAN  311 

Lieh  Kuo.  There  every  incident  is  a  real  incident,  every 
speech  a  real  speech.  Besides,  as  there  is  far  more  to 
tell  than  could  possibly  be  told,  it  is  not  likely  that  the 
writer  would  go  out  of  his  way  to  invent.  Wherefore 
the  reader  must  look  upon  the  Lieh  Kuo  as  a  genuine 
history,  and  not  as  a  mere  novel." 

The  following  extract  refers  to  a  bogus  exhibition, 
planned  by  the  scheming  State  of  Ch'in,  nominally  to 
make  a  collection  of  valuables  and  hand  them  over  as 
respectful  tribute  to  the  sovereign  House  of  Chou,  but 
really  with  a  view  to  a  general  massacre  of  the  rival 
nobles  who  stood  in  the  way  between  the  Ch'ins  and 
their  treasonable  designs  : — 

"  Duke  Ai  of  Ch'in  now  proceeded  with  his  various 
officers  of  State  to  prepare  a  place  for  the  proposed 
exhibition,  at  the  same  time  setting  a  number  of  armed 
men  in  ambuscade,  with  a  view  to  carry  out  his  ambitious 
designs  ;  and  when  he  heard  that  the  other  nobles  had 
arrived,  he  went  out  and  invited  them  to  come  in.  The 
usual  ceremonies  over,  and  the  nobles  having  taken 
their  seats  according  to  precedence,  Duke  Ai  addressed 
the  meeting  as  follows  : — 

"  '  I,  having  reverently  received  the  commission  of  the 
Son  of  Heaven,  do  hereby  open  this  assembly  for  the 
exhibition  of  such  valuables  as  may  be  brought  together 
from  all  parts  of  the  empire,  the  same  to  be  subsequently 
packed  together,  and  forwarded  as  tribute  to  our  Imperial 
master.  And  since  you  nobles  are  now  all  collected 
here  in  this  place,  it  is  fitting  that  our  several  exhibits 
be  forthwith  produced  and  submitted  for  adjudication.' 

"  Sounds  of  assent  from  the  nobles  were  heard  at  the 
conclusion  of  this  speech,  but  the  Prime  Minister  of  the 
Ch'i  State,  conscious  that  the  atmosphere  was  heavily 


312  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

laden  with  the  vapour  of  death,  as  if  from  treacherous 
ambush,  stepped  forward  and  said  : — 

" '  Of  old,  when  the  nobles  were  wont  to  assemble,  it 
was  customary  to  appoint  one  just  and  upright  member 
to  act  as  arbiter  or  judge  of  the  meeting ;  and  now  that 
we  have  thus  met  for  the  purposes  of  this  exhibition,  I 
propose,  in  the  interest  of  public  harmony,  that  some 
one  of  us  be  nominated  arbiter  in  a  similar  way.' 

"  Duke  Ai  readily  agreed  to  the  above  proposition,  and 
immediately  demanded  of  the  assembled  nobles  who 
among  them  would  venture  to  accept  the  office  indicated. 
These  words  were  scarcely  out  of  his  mouth  when  up 
rose  Pien  Chuang,  generalissimo  of  the  forces  of  Cheng, 
and  declared  that  he  was  ready  to  undertake  the  post. 
Duke  Ai  then  asked  him  upon  what  grounds,  as  to 
personal  ability,  he  based  his  claim ;  to  which  Pien 
Chuang  replied,  '  Of  ability  I  have  little  indeed,  but  I 
have  slain  a  tiger  with  one  blow  of  my  fist,  and  in 
martial  prowess  I  am  second  to  none.  Upon  this  I 
base  my  claim.' 

"  Accordingly,  Duke  Ai  called  for  a  golden  tablet,  and 
was  on  the  point  or  investing  him  as  arbiter  of  the 
exhibition,  when  a  voice  was  heard  from  among  the 
retainers  of  the  Wu  State,  loudly  urging,  '  The  slayer  of 
a  tiger  need  be  possessed  only  of  physical  courage  ;  but 
how  is  that  a  sufficient  recommendation  for  this  office  ? 
Delay  awhile,  I  pray,  until  I  come  and  take  the  tablet 
myself.' 

"  By  this  time  Duke  Ai  had  seen  that  the  speaker  was 
K'uai  Hui,  son  of  the  Duke  of  Wei,  and  forthwith  inquired 
of  him  what  his  particular  claim  to  the  post  might  be.  '  I 
cut  the  head  off  a  deadly  dragon,  and  for  that  feat  I  claim 
this  post.'  Duke  Ai  thereupon  ordered  Pien  Chuang  to 


THE  LIEH   KUO  CHUAN  313 

transfer  to  him  the  golden  tablet ;  but  this  he  refused  to 
do,  arguing  that  the  slaughter  of  a  dragon  was  simply  a 
magician's  trick,  and  not  at  all  to  the  present  purpose. 
He  added  that  if  the  tablet  was  to  be  taken  from  him, 
it  would  necessitate  an  appeal  to  force  between  himself 
and  his  rival.  The  contest  continued  thus  for  some  time, 
until  at  length  the  Prime  Minister  of  Ch'i  rose  again,  and 
solved  the  difficulty  in  the  following  terms : — 

"'The  slaughter  of  a  tiger  involves  physical  courage, 
and  the  slaughter  of  a  dragon  is  a  magician's  trick  ; 
hence,  neither  of  these  acts  embraces  that  combination 
of  mental  and  physical  power  which  we  desire  in  the 
arbiter  of  this  meeting.  Now,  in  front  of  the  palace 
there  stands  a  sacrificial  vessel  which  weighs  about  a 
thousand  pounds.  Let  Duke  Ai  give  out  a  theme  ;  and 
then  let  him  who  replies  thereto  with  most  clearness  and 
accuracy,  and  who  can,  moreover,  seize  the  aforesaid 
vessel,  and  carry  it  round  the  platform  on  which  the 
eighteen  representative  nobles  are  seated,  be  nominated 
to  the  post  of  arbiter  and  receive  the  golden  tablet.' 

"  To  this  plan  Duke  Ai  assented ;  and  writing  down  a 
theme,  bade  his  attendants  exhibit  it  among  the  heroes 
of  the  assembled  States.  The  theme  was  in  rhyme,  and 
contained  these  eight  lines  : — 

4  Say  what  supports  the  sky;  say  what  supports  the  earth; 
What  is  the  mystic  number  which  to  the  universe  gave  birth  ? 
Whence  come  the  eddying  waves  of  the  river's  rolling  might  ? 
Where  shall  we  seek  the  primal  germ  of  the  mountain's  towering 

height  ? 

By  which  of  the  elements  five  is  the  work  of  Nature  done  ? 
And  of  all  the  ten  thousand  things  that  are,  say  which  is  the 

wondrous  one  ? 

Such  are  the  questions  seven  which  I  now  propound  to  you; 
And  he  who  can  answer  them  straight  and  well  is  the  trusty  man 

and  /rue.' 


314  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

"  The  theme  had  hardly  been  uttered,  when  up  started 
Chi  Nien,  generalissimo  of  the  Ch'in  State,  and  cried  out, 
'  This  is  but  a  question  of  natural  philosophy ;  what 
difficulty  is  there  in  it  ? '  He  thereupon  advanced  to 
the  front,  and,  having  obtained  permission  to  compete, 
seized  a  stylus  and  wrote  down  the  following  reply : — 

'  Nothing  supports  the  sky  ;  nothing  supports  the  earth; 
How  can  we  guess  at  the  number  which  to  the  universe  gave  birth  ? 
From  the  reaches  above  come  the  eddying  waves  of  the  rivers 

rolling  might : 
How  can  we  tell  where  to  look  for  the  germ  of  the  mountain's 

towering  height  ? 

By  every  one  of  the  elements  five  is  the  work  of  Nature  done; 
And  of  all  the  ten  thousand  things  that  are  there  is  no  particular 

one. 

There  you  have  my  replies  to  the  questions  set  by  you  ; 
And  the  arbiter 's  post  I  hereby  claim  as  the  trusty  man  and  true' 

"Chi  Nien,  having  delivered  this  answer,  proceeded  to 
tuck  up  his  robe,  and,  passing  to  the  front  of  the  palace, 
seized  with  both  hands  the  sacrificial  vessel,  and  raised  it 
some  two  feet  from  the  ground,  his  whole  face  becoming 
suffused  with  colour  under  the  effort.  At  the  same  time 
there  arose  a  great  noise  of  drums  and  horns,  and  all  the 
assembled  nobles  applauded  loudly ;  whereupon  Duke 
Ai  personally  invested  him  with  the  golden  tablet  and 
proclaimed  him  arbiter  of  the  exhibition,  for  which  Chi 
Nien  was  just  about  to  return  thanks,  when  suddenly 
up  jumped  Wu  Yiian,  generalissimo  of  the  Ch'u  State, 
and  coming  forward,  declared  in  an  angry  tone  that  Chi 
Nien's  answer  did  not  dispose  of  the  theme  in  a  proper 
and  final  manner ;  that  he  had  not  removed  the  sacri- 
ficial vessel  from  its  place,  and  that  consequently  he 
had  not  earned  the  appointment  which  Wu  Yiian  now 
contended  should  be  bestowed  upon  himself.  Duke  Ai, 


THE  LIEH   KUO  CHUAN  315 

in  view  of  his  scheme  for  seizing  the  persons  of  the 
various  nobles,  was  naturally  anxious  that  the  post  of 
arbiter  should  fall  to  one  of  his  own  officers,  and  was 
much  displeased  at  this  attempt  on  the  part  of  Wu  Yiian ; 
however,  he  replied  that  if  the  latter  could  dispose  of 
the  theme  and  carry  round  the  sacrificial  vessel,  the 
office  of  arbiter  would  be  his.  Wu  Yiian  thereupon  took 
a  stylus  and  indited  the  following  lines : — 

'  The  earth  supports  the  sky;  the  sky  supports  the  earth. 

Five  is  the  mystic  number  which  to  the  universe  gave  birth. 

Down  from  the  sky  come  the  eddying  waves  of  the  river's  rolling 
might. 

In  the  JCun-lun  range  we  must  seek  the  germ  of  the  mountain's 
towering  height. 

By  truth,  of  the  elements  five,  can  most  good  work  be  done; 

And  of  all  the  ten  thousand  things  that  are,  man  is  the  wondrous 
one. 

There  you  have  my  replies  to  the  questions  set  this  day ; 

7  he  answers  are  clear  and  straight  to  the  point,  and  given  with- 
out delay,' 

11  As  soon  as  he  had  finished  writing,  he  handed  his 
reply  to  Duke  Ai,  who  at  once  saw  that  he  had  in  every 
way  disposed  of  the  theme  with  far  greater  skill  than 
Chi  Nien,  and  accordingly  now  bade  him  show  his 
strength  upon  the  sacrificial  vessel.  Wu  Yuan  imme- 
diately stepped  forward,  and,  holding  up  his  robe  with 
his  left  hand,  seized  the  vessel  with  his  right,  raising  it  up 
and  bearing  it  round  the  platform  before  the  assembled 
nobles,  and  finally  depositing  it  in  its  original  place, 
without  so  much  as  changing  colour.  The  nobles  gazed 
at  each  other  in  astonishment  at  this  feat,  and  with  one 
accord  declared  him  to  be  the  hero  of  the  day  ;  so  that 
Duke  Ai  had  no  alternative  but  to  invest  him  with  the 
golden  tablet  and  announce  his  appointment  to  the  post 
of  arbiter." 


316  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

The  Ching  Hua  Yuan  is  a  less  pretentious  work  than 
the  preceding,  but  of  an  infinitely  more  interesting  char- 
acter. Dealing  with  the  reign  of  the  Empress  Wu,  who 
in  A.D.  684  set  aside  the  rightful  heir  and  placed  herself 
upon  the  throne,  which  she  occupied  for  twenty  years, 
this  work  describes  how  a  young  graduate,  named  T'ang, 
disgusted  with  the  establishment  of  examinations  and 
degrees  for  women,  set  out  with  a  small  party  on  a 
voyage  of  exploration.  Among  all  the  strange  places 
which  they  visited,  the  most  curious  was  the  Country  of 
Gentlemen,  where  they  landed  and  proceeded  at  once  to 
the  capital  city. 

"There,  over  the  city  gate,  T'ang  and  his  companions 
read  the  following  legend  : — 

'  Virtue  is  man's  only  jewel /' 

"They  then  entered  the  city,  which  they  found  to  be 
a  busy  and  prosperous  mart,  the  inhabitants  all  talking 
the  Chinese  language.  Accordingly,  T'ang  accosted  one 
of  the  passers-by,  and  asked  him  how  it  was  his  nation 
had  become  so  famous  for  politeness  and  consideration 
of  others  ;  but,  to  his  great  astonishment,  the  man  did 
not  understand  the  meaning  of  his  question.  T'ang 
then  asked  him  why  this  land  was  called  the  '  Country 
of  Gentlemen,'  to  which  he  likewise  replied  that  he  did 
not  know.  Several  other  persons  of  whom  they  inquired 
giving  similar  answers,  the  venerable  To  remarked  that 
the  term  had  undoubtedly  been  adopted  by  the  in- 
habitants of  adjacent  countries,  in  consequence  of  the 
polite  manners  and  considerate  behaviour  of  these 
people.  '  For,'  said  he,  '  the  very  labourers  in  the  fields 
and  foot-passengers  in  the  streets  step  aside  to  make 
room  for  one  another.  High  and  low,  rich  and  poor, 


THE  CHING  HUA  YUAN  317 

mutually  respect  each  other's  feelings  without  reference 
to  the  wealth  or  social  status  of  either  ;  and  this  is,  after 
all,  the  essence  of  what  constitutes  the  true  gentleman.' 

"'  In  that  case/  cried  T'ang,  'let  us  not  hurry  on,  but 
rather  improve  ourselves  by  observing  the  ways  and 
customs  of  this  people.' 

"  By  and  by  they  arrived  at  the  market-place,  where 
they  saw  an  official  runner  standing  at  a  stall  engaged 
in  making  purchases.  He  was  holding  in  his  hand  the 
articles  he  wished  to  buy,  and  was  saying  to  the  owner 
of  the  stall,  '  Just  reflect  a  moment,  sir,  how  impossible 
it  would  be  for  me  to  take  these  excellent  goods  at  the 
absurdly  low  price  you  are  asking.  If  you  will  oblige 
me  by  doubling  the  amount,  I  shall  do  myself  the 
honour  of  accepting  them ;  otherwise,  I  cannot  but 
feel  that  you  are  unwilling  to  do  business  with  me 
to-day.' 

"'  How  very  funny  ! '  whispered  T'ang  to  his  friends. 
'  Here,  now,  is  quite  a  different  custom  from  ours,  where 
the  buyer  invariably  tries  to  beat  down  the  seller,  and 
the  seller  to  run  up  the  price  of  his  goods  as  high  as 
possible.  This  certainly  looks  like  the  '  consideration 
for  others '  of  which  we  spoke  just  now.' 

"  The  man  at  the  stall  here  replied,  '  Your  wish,  sir, 
should  be  law  to  me,  I  know ;  but  the  fact  is,  I  am 
already  overwhelmed  with  shame  at  the  high  price  I 
have  ventured  to  name.  Besides,  I  do  not  profess  to 
adhere  rigidly  to  '  marked  prices,'  which  is  a  mere  trick 
of  the  trade,  and  consequently  it  should  be  the  aim  of 
every  purchaser  to  make  me  lower  my  terms  to  the  very 
smallest  figure  ;  you,  on  the  contrary,  are  trying  to  raise 
the  price  to  an  exorbitant  figure  ;  and  although  I  fully 
appreciate  your  kindness  in  that  respect,  I  must  really 


3i 8  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

ask  you  to  seek  what  you  require  at  some  other  estab- 
lishment. It  is  quite  impossible  for  me  to  execute  your 
commands.' 

"T'ang  was  again  expressing  his  astonishment  at  this 
extraordinary  reversal  of  the  platitudes  of  trade,  when 
the  would-be  purchaser  replied,  '  For  you,  sir,  to  ask 
such  a  low  sum  for  these  first-class  goods,  and  then  to 
turn  round  and  accuse  me  of  over-considering  your 
interests,  is  indeed  a  sad  breach  of  etiquette.  Trade 
could  not  be  carried  on  at  all  if  'all  the  advantages  were 
on  one  side  and  the  losses  on  the  other  ;  neither  am  I 
more  devoid  of  brains  than  the  ordinary  run  of  people 
that  I  should  fail  to  understand  this  principle  and  let 
you  catch  me  in  a  trap.' 

"So  they  went  on  wrangling  and  jangling,  the  stall- 
keeper  refusing  to  charge  any  more  and  the  runner 
insisting  on  paying  his  own  price,  until  the  latter  made 
a  show  of  yielding  and  put  down  the  full  sum  demanded 
on  the  counter,  but  took  only  half  the  amount  of  goods. 
Of  course  the  stall-keeper  would  not  consent  to  this, 
and  they  would  both  have  fallen  back  upon  their  original 
positions  had  not  two  old  gentlemen  who  happened  to 
be  passing  stepped  aside  and  arranged  the  matter  for 
them,  by  deciding  that  the  runner  was  to  pay  the  full 
price  but  to  receive  only  four-fifths  of  the  goods. 

"T'ang  and  his  companions  walked  on  in  silence, 
meditating  upon  the  strange  scene  they  had  just  wit- 
nessed ;  but  they  had  not  gone  many  steps  when  they 
came  across  a  soldier  similarly  engaged  in  buying  things 
at  an  open  shop-window.  He  was  saying,  'When  I 
asked  the  price  of  these  goods,  you,  sir,  begged  me  to 
take  them  at  my  own  valuation  ;  but  now  that  I  am 
willing  to  do  so,  you  complain  of  the  large  sum  I  offer, 


THE  CHING  HUA  YUAN  319 

whereas  the  truth  is  that  it  is  actually  very  much  below 
their  real  value.  Do  not  treat  me  thus  unfairly.' 

"'It  is  not  for  me,  sir/  replied  the  shopkeeper, 'to 
demand  a  price  for  my  own  goods  ;  my  duty  is  to  leave 
that  entirely  to  you.  But  the  fact  is,  that  these  goods  are 
old  stock,  and  are  not  even  the  best  of  their  kind ;  you 
would  do  much  better  at  another  shop.  However,  let  us 
say  half  what  you  are  good  enough  to  offer ;  even  then 
I  feel  I  shall  be  taking  a  great  deal  too  much.  I  could 
not  think,  sir,  of  parting  with  my  goods  at  your  price.' 

" '  What  is  that  you  are  saying,  sir  ? '  cried  the 
soldier.  'Although  not  in  the  trade  myself,  I  can  tell 
superior  from  inferior  articles,  and  am  not  likely  to 
mistake  one  for  the  other.  And  to  pay  a  low  price  for  a 
good  article  is  simply  another  way  of  taking  money  out 
of  a  man's  pocket.' 

" '  Sir,'  retorted  the  shopkeeper,  '  if  you  are  such  a 
stickler  for  justice  as  all  that,  let  us  say  half  the  price 
you  first  mentioned,  and  the  goods  are  yours.  If  you 
object  to  that,  I  must  ask  you  to  take  your  custom  else- 
where. You  will  then  find  that  I  am  not  imposing  on 
you.' 

"  The  soldier  at  first  stuck  to  his  text,  but  seeing  that 
the  shopkeeper  was  not  inclined  to  give  way,  he  laid 
down  the  sum  named  and  began  to  take  his  goods, 
picking  out  the  very  worst  he  could  find.  Here,  how- 
ever, the  shopkeeper  interposed,  saying,  '  Excuse  me,  sir, 
but  you  are  taking  all  the  bad  ones.  It  is  doubtless  very 
kind  of  you  to  leave  the  best  for  me,  but  if  all  men  were 
like  you  there  would  be  a  general  collapse  of  trade.' 

'"  Sir,'  replied  the  soldier,  'as  you  insist  on  accepting 
only  half  the  value  of  the  goods,  there  is  no  course  open 
to  me  but  to  choose  inferior  articles.  Besides,  as  a 


320  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

matter  of  fact,  the  best  kind  will  not  answer  my  purpose 
so  well  as  the  second  or  third  best ;  and  although  I  fully 
recognise  your  good  intentions,  I  must  really  ask  to  be 
allowed  to  please  myself.' 

"  '  There  is  no  objection,  sir,'  said  the  shopkeeper,  '  to 
your  pleasing  yourself,  but  low-class  goods  are  sold  at 
a  low  price,  and  do  not  command  the  same  rates  as 
superior  articles.' 

"  Thus  they  went  on  bandying  arguments  for  a  long 
time  without  coming  to  any  definite  agreement,  until  at 
last  the  soldier  picked  up  the  things  he  had  chosen  and 
tried  to  make  off  with  them.  The  bystanders,  however, 
all  cried  shame  upon  him  and  said  he  was  a  downright 
cheat,  so  that  he  was  ultimately  obliged  to  take  some  of 
the  best  kind  and  some  of  the  inferior  kind  and  put  an 
end  to  the  altercation. 

"  A  little  farther  on  our  travellers  saw  a  countryman 
who  had  just  paid  the  price  of  some  purchases  he  had 
succeeded  in  making,  and  was  hurrying  away  with  them, 
when  the  shopkeeper  called  after  him,  '  Sir  !  sir  !  you 
have  paid  me  by  mistake  in  finer  silver  than  we  are 
accustomed  to  use  here,  and  I  have  to  allow  you  a  con- 
siderable discount  in  consequence.  Of  course  this  is  a 
mere  trifle  to  a  gentleman  of  your  rank  and  position,  but 
still  for  my  own  sake  I  must  ask  leave  to  make  it  all 
right  with  you.'  ( 

" '  Pray  don't  mention  such  a  small  matter,'  replied 
the  countryman,  '  but  oblige  me  by  putting  the  amount 
to  my  credit  for  use  at  a  future  date  when  I  come  again 
to  buy  some  more  of  your  excellent  wares.' 

"  '  No,  no,'  answered  the  shopkeeper,  l  you  don't  catch 
old  birds  with  chaff.  That  trick  was  played  upon  me 
last  year  by  another  gentleman,  and  to  this  day  I  have 


THE  CHING  HUA  YUAN  321 

never  set  eyes  upon  him  again,  though  I  have  made 
every  endeavour  to  find  out  his  whereabouts.  As  it  is,  I 
can  now  only  look  forward  to  repaying  him  in  the  next 
life ;  but  if  I  let  you  take  me  in  in  the  same  way,  why, 
when  the  next  life  comes  and  I  am  changed,  maybe  into 
a  horse  or  a  donkey,  I  shall  have  quite  enough  to  do  to 
find  him,  and  your  debt  will  go  dragging  on  till  the  life 
after  that.  No,  no,  there  is  no  time  like  the  present ; 
hereafter  I  might  very  likely  forget  what  was  the  exact 
sum  I  owed  you.' 

"  They  continued  to  argue  the  point  until  the  country- 
man consented  to  accept  a  trifle  as  a  set-off  against  the 
fineness  of  his  silver,  and  went  away  with  his  goods,  the 
shopkeeper  bawling  after  him  as  long  as  he  was  in  sight 
that  he  had  sold  him  inferior  articles  at  a  high  rate,  and 
was  positively  defrauding  him  of  his  money.  The 
countryman,  however,  got  clear  away,  and  the  shop- 
keeper returned  to  his  grumbling  at  the  iniquity  of  the 
age.  Just  then  a  beggar  happened  to  pass,  and  so  in 
anger  at  having  been  compelled  to  take  more  than  his 
due  he  handed  him  the  difference.  'Who  knows/ said 
he,  '  but  that  the  present  misery  of  this  poor  fellow  may 
be  retribution  for  overcharging  people  in  a  former 
life  ? ' 

"  '  Ah/  said  T'ang,  when  he  had  witnessed  the  finale  of 
this  little  drama,  '  truly  this  is  the  behaviour  of  gentle- 


men 


"  Our  travellers  then  fell  into  conversation  with  two 
respectable -looking  old  men  who  said  they  were 
brothers,  and  accepted  their  invitation  to  go  and  take  a 
cup  of  tea  together.  Their  hosts  talked  eagerly  about 
China,  and  wished  to  hear  many  particulars  of  t  the  first 
nation  in  the  world.'  Yet,  while  expressing  their  ad- 


322  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

miration  for  the  high  literary  culture  of  its  inhabitants 
and  their  unqualified  successes  in  the  arts  and  sciences, 
they  did  not  hesitate  to  stigmatise  as  unworthy  a  great 
people  certain  usages  which  appeared  to  them  deserving 
of  the  utmost  censure.  They  laughed  at  the  superstitions 
of  Feng-Shui,  and  wondered  how  intelligent  men  could 
be  imposed  upon  year  after  year  by  the  mountebank 
professors  of  such  baseless  nonsense.  '  If  it  is  true/  said 
one  of  them,  'that  the  selection  of  an  auspicious  day  and 
a  fitting  spot  for  the  burial  of  one's  father  or  mother  is 
certain  to  bring  prosperity  to  the  survivors,  how  can  you 
account  for  the  fact  that  the  geomancers  themselves  are 
always  a  low,  poverty-stricken  lot  ?  Surely  they  would 
begin  by  appropriating  the  very  best  positions  them- 
selves, and  so  secure  whatever  good  fortune  might  hap- 
pen to  be  in  want  of  an  owner.' 

"  Then  again  with  regard  to  bandaging  women's  feet 
in  order  to  reduce  their  size.  '  We  can  see  no  beauty,' 
said  they,  'in  such  monstrosities  as  the  feet  of  your 
ladies.  Small  noses  are  usually  considered  more  attrac- 
tive than  large  ones ;  but  what  would  be  said  of  a  man 
who  sliced  a  piece  off  his  own  nose  in  order  to  reduce 
it  within  proper  limits  ? ' 

"And  thus  the  hours  slipped  pleasantly  away  until  it 
was  time  to  bid  adieu  to  their  new  friends  and  regain 
their  ship." 

The  Chin  Ku  Ch'i  Kuan,  or  Marvellous  Tales, 
Ancient  and  Modern,  is  a  great  favourite  with  the 
romance-reading  Chinaman.  It  is  a  collection  of  forty 
stories  said  to  have  been  written  towards  the  close  of  the 
Ming  dynasty  by  the  members  of  a  society  who  held 
meetings  for  that  purpose.  Translations  of  many,  if  not 


P'ING  SHAN  LENG  YEN  323 

all,  of  these  have  been  published.  The  style  is  easy, 
very  unlike  that  of  the  P*ing  Shan  Leng  Yen,  a  well- 
known  novel  in  what  would  be  called  a  high-class 
literary  style,  being  largely  made  up  of  stilted  dialogue 
and  over-elaborated  verse  composed  at  the  slightest 
provocation  by  the  various  characters  in  the  story. 
These  were  P'ing  and  Yen,  two  young  students  in  love 
with  Shan  and  Leng,  two  young  poetesses  who  charmed 
even  more  by  their  literary  talent  than  by  their  fascinat- 
ing beauty.  On  one  occasion  a  pretended  poet,  named 
Sung,  who  was  a  suitor  for  the  hand  of  Miss  Leng,  had 
been  entertained  by  her  uncle,  and  after  dinner  the 
party  wandered  about  in  the  garden.  Miss  Leng  was 
summoned,  and  when  writing  materials  had  been  pro- 
duced, as  usual  on  such  occasions,  Mr.  Sung  was  asked 
to  favour  the  company  with  a  sonnet.  "  Excuse  me," 
he  replied,  "  but  I  have  taken  rather  too  much  wine  for 
verse-making  just  now."  "Why,"  rejoined  Miss  Leng, 
"  it  was  after  a  gallon  of  wine  that  Li  Po  dashed  off  a 
hundred  sonnets,  and  so  gained  a  name  which  will 
live  for  a  thousand  generations."  "  Of  course  I  could 
compose,"  said  Mr.  Sung,  "  even  after  drinking,  but  I 
might  become  coarse.  It  is  better  to  be  fasting,  and  to 
feel  quite  clear  in  the  head.  Then  the  style  is  more 
finished,  and  the  verse  more  pleasing."  "Ts'ao  Chih," 
retorted  Miss  Leng,  "composed  a  sonnet  while  taking 
only  seven  steps,  and  his  fame  will  be  remembered  for 
ever.  Surely  occasion  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  matter." 
In  the  midst  of  Mr.  Sung's  confusion,  the  uncle  proposed 
that  the  former  should  set  a  theme  for  Miss  Leng  instead, 
to  which  he  consented,  and  on  looking  about  him  caught 
sight  through  the  open  window  of  a  paper  kite,  which 
he  forthwith  suggested,  hoping  in  his  heart  to  completely 


324  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

puzzle  the  sarcastic  young  lady.  However,  in  the  time 
that  it  takes  to  drink  a  cup  of  tea,  she  had  thrown  off  the 
following  lines  : — 

"  Cunningly  made  to  look  like  a  bird, 
It  cheats  fools  and  little  children. 
It  has  a  body  of  bamboo,  light  and  thin, 
And  flowers  painted  on  it,  as  though  something  wonderful. 
Blown  by  the  wind  it  swaggers  in  the  sky, 
Bound  by  a  string  it  is  unable  to  move. 
DJ  not  laugh  at  its  sham  feet, 
If  it  fell,  you  would  see  only  a  dry  and  empty  frame? 

All  this  was  intended  in  ridicule  of  Mr.  Sung  himself 
and  of  his  personal  appearance,  and  is  a  fair  sample  of 
what  the  reader  may  expect  throughout. 

The  Erh  Tou  Mei,  or  "Twice  Flowering  Plum-trees," 
belongs  to  the  sixteenth  or  seventeenth  century,  and  is 
by  an  unknown  author.  It  is  a  novel  with  a  purpose, 
being  apparently  designed  to  illustrate  the  beauty  of  filial 
piety,  the  claims  of  friendship,  and  duty  to  one's  neigh- 
bour in  general.  Written  in  a  simple  style,  with  no 
wealth  of  classical  allusion  to  soothe  the  feelings  of  the 
pedant,  it  contains  several  dramatic  scenes,  and  altogether 
forms  a  good  panorama  of  Chinese  everyday  life.  Two 
heroes  are  each  in  love  with  two  heroines,  and  just  as 
in  the  Yti  Chiao  Li,  each  hero  marries  both.  There  is 
a  slender  thread  of  fact  running  through  the  tale,  the 
action  of  which  is  placed  in  the  eighth  century,  and 
several  of  the  characters  are  actually  historical.  One 
of  the  four  lovely  heroines,  in  order  to  keep  peace  be- 
tween China  and  the  Tartar  tribes  which  are  continually 
harrying  the  borders,  decides  to  sacrifice  herself  on  the 
altar  of  patriotism  and  become  the  bride  of  the  Khan. 


KAO  TS£-CH€£NG  325 

The  parting  at  the  frontier  is  touchingly  described ;  but 
the  climax  is  reached  when,  on  arrival  at  her  destina- 
tion, she  flings  herself  headlong  over  a  frightful  precipice, 
rather  than  pass  into  the  power  of  the  hated  barbarian, 
a  waiting- maid  being  dressed  up  in  her  clothes  and 
handed  over  to  the  unsuspecting  Khan.  She  herself  does 
not  die.  Caught  upon  a  purple  cloud,  she  is  escorted 
back  to  her  own  country  by  a  bevy  of  admiring  angels. 

There  is  also  an  effective  scene,  from  which  the  title  of 
the  book  is  derived,  when  the  plum  trees,  whose  flowers 
had  been  scattered  by  a  storm  of  wind  and  rain,  gave 
themselves  up  to  fervent  prayer.  "The  Garden  Spirit 
heard  their  earnest  supplications,  and  announced  them 
to  the  Guardian  Angel  of  the  town,  who  straightway 
flew  up  to  heaven  and  laid  them  at  the  feet  of  God." 
The  trees  were  then  suffered  to  put  forth  new  buds,  and 
soon  bloomed  again,  more  beautiful  than  ever. 

The  production  of  plays  was  well  sustained  through 
the  Ming  dynasty,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  Drama, 
whether  an  exotic  or  a  development  within  the  bound- 
aries of  the  Middle  Kingdom,  had  emphatically  come  to 
stay.  It  had  caught  on,  and  henceforth  forms  the  ideal 
pastime  of  the  cultured,  reflective  scholar,  and  of  the 
laughter-loving  masses  of  the  Chinese  people. 

The  Pli  Pa  Chi,  or  "  Story  of  the  Guitar,"  stands  easily 
at  the  head  of  the  list,  being  ranked  by  some  admirers 
as  the  very  finest  of  all  Chinese  plays.  It  is  variously 
arranged  in  various  editions  under  twenty-four  or  forty- 
two  scenes  ;  and  many  liberties  have  been  taken  with  the 
text,  long  passages  having  been  interpolated  and  many 
other  changes  made.  It  was  first  performed  in  1704, 
and  was  regarded  as  a  great  advance  in  the  dramatic  art 


326  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

upon  the  early  plays  of  the  Mongols.  The  author's  name 
was  KAO  TSE-CH'ENG,  and  his  hero  is  said  to  have  been 
taken  from  real  life  in  the  person  of  a  friend  who  actually 
rose  from  poverty  to  rank  and  affluence.  The  following 
is  an  outline  of  the  plot. 

A  brilliant  young  graduate  and  his  beautiful  wife  are 
living,  as  is  customary,  with  the  husband's  parents.  The 
father  urges  the  son  to  go  to  the  capital  and  take  his 
final  degree.  "  At  fifteen,"  says  the  old  man,  "  study  ;  at 
thirty,  act."  The  mother,  however,  is  opposed  to  this 
plan,  and  declares  that  they  cannot  get  along  without 
their  son.  She  tells  a  pitiful  tale  of  another  youth  who 
went  to  the  capital,  and  after  infinite  suffering  was  ap- 
pointed Master  of  a  Workhouse,  only  to  find  that  his 
parents  had  already  preceded  him  thither  in  the  capacity 
of  paupers.  The  young  man  finally  decides  to  do  his 
duty  to  the  Son  of  Heaven,  and  forthwith  sets  off,  leaving 
the  family  to  the  kind  care  of  a  benevolent  friend.  He 
undergoes  the  examination,  which  in  the  play  is  turned 
into  ridicule,  and  comes  out  in  the  coveted  position  of 
Senior  Classic.  The  Emperor  then  instructs  one  of  his 
Ministers  to  take  the  Senior  Classic  as  a  son-in-law ;  but 
our  hero  refuses,  on  the  ground,  so  it  is  whispered, 
that  the  lady's  feet  are  too  large.  The  Minister  is 
then  compelled  to  put  on  pressure,  and  the  marriage 
is  solemnised,  this  part  of  the  play  concluding  with  an 
effective  scene,  in  which  on  being  asked  by  his  new  wife 
to  sing,  our  hero  suggests  such  songs  as  "  Far  from  his 
True  Love,"  and  others  in  a  similar  style.  Even  when 
he  agrees  to  sing  "The  Wind  through  the  Pines,"  he 
drops  unwittingly  into  "  Oh  for  my  home  once  more  ; " 
and  then  when  recalled  to  his  senses,  he  relapses  again 
into  a  song  about  a  deserted  wife. 


KAO  TS£-CH'£NG  32? 

Meanwhile  misfortunes  have  overtaken  the  family  left 
behind.  There  has  been  a  famine,  the  public  granaries 
have  been  discovered  to  be  empty  instead  of  full,  and 
the  parents  and  wife  have  been  reduced  to  starvation. 
The  wife  exerts  herself  to  the  utmost,  selling  all  her 
jewels  to  buy  food ;  and  when  at  length,  after  her 
mother-in-law's  death,  her  father-in-law  dies  too,  she 
cuts  off  her  hair  and  tries  to  sell  it  in  order  to  buy 
a  coffin,  being  prevented  only  by  the  old  friend  who 
has  throughout  lent  what  assistance  he  could.  The  next 
thing  is  to  raise  a  tumulus  over  the  grave.  This  she 
tries  to  do  with  her  own  hands,  but  falls  asleep  from 
fatigue.  The  Genius  of  the  Hills  sees  her  in  this  state, 
and  touched  by  her  filial  devotion,  summons  the  white 
monkey  of  the  south  and  the  black  tiger  of  the  north, 
spirits  who,  with  the  aid  of  their  subordinates,  complete 
the  tumulus  in  less  than  no  time.  On  awaking,  she  re- 
cognises supernatural  intervention,  and  then  determines 
to  start  for  the  capital  in  search  of  her  husband,  against 
whom  she  entertains  very  bitter  feelings.  She  first  sets 
to  work  to  paint  the  portraits  of  his  deceased  parents, 
and  then  with  these  for  exhibition  as  a  means  of  obtain- 
ing alms,  and  with  her  guitar,  she  takes  her  departure. 
Before  her  arrival  the  husband  has  heard  by  a  letter, 
forged  in  order  to  get  a  reward,  that  his  father  and 
mother  are  both  well,  and  on  their  way  to  rejoin  him. 
He  therefore  goes  to  a  temple  to  pray  Buddha  for  a  safe 
conduct,  and  there  picks  up  the  rolled-up  pictures  of  his 
father  and  mother  which  have  been  dropped  by  his  wife, 
who  has  also  visited  the  temple  to  ask  for  alms.  The 
picture  is  sent  unopened  to  his  study.  And  now  the 
wife,  in  continuing  her  search,  accidentally  gains  admis- 
sion to  her  husband's  house,  and  is  kindly  received  by 


328  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

the  second  wife.  After  a  few  misunderstandings  the  truth 
comes  out,  and  the  second  wife,  who  is  in  full  sympathy 
with  the  first,  recommends  her  to  step  into  the  study  and 
leave  a  note  for  the  husband.  This  note,  in  the  shape 
of  some  uncomplimentary  verses,  is  found  by  the  latter 
together  with  the  pictures  which  have  been  hung  up 
against  the  wall;  the  second  wife  introduces  the  first; 
there  is  an  explanation ;  and  the  curtain,  if  there  was 
such  a  thing  in  a  Chinese  theatre,  would  fall  upon  the 
final  happiness  of  the  husband  and  his  two  wives. 

Of  course,  in  the  above  sketch  of  a  play,  which  is  about 
as  long  as  one  of  Shakespeare's,  a  good  many  side- 
touches  have  been  left  out.  Its  chief  beauties,  according 
to  Chinese  critics,  are  to  be  found  in  the  glorification 
of  duty  to  the  sovereign,  of  filial  piety  to  a  husband's 
parents,  and  of  accommodating  behaviour  on  the  part  of 
the  second  wife  tending  so  directly  to  the  preservation 
of  peace  under  complicated  circumstances.  The  forged 
letter  is  looked  upon  as  a  weak  spot,  as  the  hero  would 
know  his  father's  handwriting,  and  so  with  other  points 
which  it  has  been  suggested  should  be  cut  out.  "  But 
because  a  stork's  neck  is  too  long,"  says  an  editor,  "you 
can't  very  well  remedy  the  defect  by  taking  a  piece  off." 
On  the  other  hand,  the  pathetic  character  of  the  play 
gives  it  a  high  value  with  the  Chinese  ;  for,  as  we  are 
told  in  the  prologue,  "  it  is  much  easier  to  make  people 
laugh  than  cry."  And  if  we  can  believe  all  that  is  said 
on  this  score,  every  successive  generation  has  duly  paid 
its  tribute  of  tears  to  the  Pi  Pa  Chi. 


CHAPTER    III 

POETRY 

THOUGH  the  poetry  of  the  Ming  dynasty  shows  little 
falling  off,  in  point  of  mere  volume,  there  are  far  fewer 
great  poets  to  be  found  than  under  the  famous  Houses  of 
T'ang  and  Sung.  The  name,  however,  which  stands  first 
in  point  of  chronological  sequence,  is  one  which  is  widely 
known.  HSIEH  CHIN  (1369-1415)  was  born  when  the 
dynasty  was  but  a  year  old,  and  took  his  final  degree 
before  he  had  passed  the  age  of  twenty.  His  precocity 
had  already  gained  for  him  the  reputation  of  being  an 
Inspired  Boy,  and,  later  on,  the  Emperor  took  such  a 
fancy  to  him,  that  while  Hsieh  Chin  was  engaged  in 
writing,  his  Majesty  would  often  deign  to  hold  the  ink- 
slab.  He  was  President  of  the  Commission  which 
produced  the  huge  encyclopaedia  already  described, 
but  he  is  now  chiefly  known  as  the  author  of  what 
appears  to  be  a  didactic  poem  of  about  150  lines, 
which  may  be  picked  up  at  any  bookstall.  It  is  ne- 
cessary to  say  "about  150  lines,"  since  no  two  editions 
give  identically  the  same  number  of  lines,  or  even  the 
same  text  to  each  line.  It  is  also  very  doubtful  if 
Hsieh  Chin  actually  wrote  such  a  poem.  In  many 
editions,  lines  are  boldly  stolen  from  the  early  Han 
poetry  and  pitchforked  in  without  rhyme  or  reason, 

thus  making  the  transitions  even  more  awkward  than 

339 


330  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

they  otherwise  would  be.  All  editors  seem  to  be  agreed 
upon  the  four  opening  lines,  which  state  that  the  Son  of 
Heaven  holds  heroes  in  high  esteem,  that  his  Majesty 
urges  all  to  study  diligently,  and  that  everything  in  this 
world  is  second-class,  with  the  sole  exception  of  book- 
learning.  It  is  in  fact  the  old  story  that 

"  Learning  is  better  than  house  or  land; 
For  when  house  and  land  are  gone  and  spent, 
Then  learning  is  most  excellent? 

Farther  on  we  come  to  four  lines  often  quoted  as  enume-* 
rating  the  four  greatest  happinesses  in  life,  to  wit, 

"  A  gentle  rain  after  long  drought, 
Meeting  an  old  friend  in  a  foreign  clime, 
The  joys  of  the  wedding-day, 
One?s  name  on  the  list  of  successful  candidates? 

The  above  lines  occur  a  propos  of  nothing  in  particular, 
and  are  closely  followed  in  some  editions  by  more 
precepts  on  the  subject  of  earnest  application.  Then 
after  reading  that  the  Classics  are  the  best  fields  to 
cultivate,  we  come  upon  four  lines  with  a  dash  of  real 
poetry  in  them  : — 

"Man  in  his  youth-time' s  rosy  glow, 

The  pink  peach  flowering  in  the  glade  .... 
Why,  yearly,  when  spring  breezes  blow, 
Does  each  one  flush  a  deeper  shade  ?  " 

More  injunctions  to  burn  the  midnight  oil  are  again 
strangely  followed  by  a  suggestion  that  three  cups  of 
wine  induce  serenity  of  mind,  and  that  if  a  man  is  but 
dead  drunk,  all  his  cares  disappear,  which  is  only  another 
way  of  saying  that 

"  The  best  of  life  is  but  intoxication." 


HSIEH  CHIN  331 

Altogether,  this  poem  is  clearly  a  patchwork,  of  which 
some  parts  may  have  come  from  Hsieh  Chin's  pen. 
Here  is  a  short  poem  of  his  in  defence  of  official 
venality,  about  which  there  is  no  doubt : — 

"  In  vain  hands  bent  on  sacrifice 

or  clasped  in  prayer  we  see; 
The  ways  of  God  are  not  exactly 

what  those  ways  should  be. 
The  swindler  and  the  ruffian 

lead  pleasant  lives  enough, 
While  judgments  overtake  the  good 

and  many  a  sharp  rebuff. 
The  swaggering  bully  stalks  along 

as  blithely  as  you  please ', 
While  those  who  never  miss  their  prayers 

are  martyrs  to  disease. 
And  if  great  God  Almighty  fails 

to  keep  the  balance  true, 
What  can  we  hope  that  paltry 

mortal  magistrates  will  do?" 

The  writer  came  to  a  tragic  end.  By  supporting  the 
claim  of  the  eldest  prince  to  be  named  heir  apparent, 
he  made  a  lasting  enemy  of  another  son,  who  succeeded 
in  getting  him  banished  on  one  charge,  and  then  im- 
prisoned on  a  further  charge.  After  four  years'  con- 
finement he  was  made  drunk,  probably  without  much 
difficulty,  and  was  buried  under  a  heap  of  snow. 

The  Emperor  who  reigned  between  1522  and  1566  as 
the  eleventh  of  his  line  was  not  a  very  estimable  person- 
age, especially  in  the  latter  years  of  his  life,  when  he 
spent  vast  sums  over  palaces  and  temples,  and  wasted 
most  of  his  time  in  seeking  after  the  elixir  of  life.  In 
1539  he  despatched  General  Mao  to  put  down  a  rising  in 
Annam,  and  gave  him  an  autograph  poem  as  a  send-off. 


332  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

The  verses  are  considered  spirited  by  Chinese  critics, 
and  are  frequently  given  in  collections,  which  certainly 
would  not  be  the  case  if  Imperial  authorship  was  their 
only  claim  : — 

-<  Southward,  in  all  the  panoply 
of  cruel  war  arrayed, 
See,  our  heroic  general  points 

and  waves  his  glittering  blade  ! 
Across  the  hills  and  streams 

the  lizard-drums  terrific  roll, 
While  glint  of  myriad  banners 

flashes  high  from  pole  to  pole.  .  .  . 
Go,  scion  of  the  Unicorn, 

and  prove  thy  heavenly  birth, 
And  crush  to  all  eternity 

these  insects  of  the  earth; 
And  when  thou  confst,  a  conqueror, 

from  those  wild  barbarian  lands, 
WE  will  unhitch  thy  war-cloak 

with  our  own  Imperial  hands  /  * 

The  courtesans  of  ancient  and  mediaeval  China 
formed  a  class  which  now  seems  no  longer  to  exist. 
Like  the  hetaircs  of  Greece,  they  were  often  highly 
educated,  and  exercised  considerable  influence.  Bio- 
graphies of  the  most  famous  of  these  ladies  are  in 
existence,  extending  back  to  the  seventh  century  A.D. 
The  following  is  an  extract  from  that  of  Hsieh  Su-su, 
who  flourished  in  the  fourteenth  century,  and  "with 
whom  but  few  of  the  beauties  of  old  could  compare  " : — 

"  Su-su's  beauty  was  of  a  most  refined  style,  with  a 
captivating  sweetness  of  voice  and  grace  of  movement. 
She  was  a  skilful  artist,  sweeping  the  paper  with  a  few 
rapid  touches,  which  produced  such  speaking  effects 
that  few,  even  of  the  first  rank,  could  hope  to  excel  her 
work.  She  was  a  fine  horsewoman,  and  could  shoot 


CHAO  TS'AI-CHI— CHAO  LI-HUA          333 

from  horseback  with  a  cross-bow.  She  would  fire  one 
pellet,  and  then  a  second,  which  would  catch  up  the  first 
and  smash  it  to  atoms  in  mid-air.  Or  she  would  throw 
a  pellet  on  to  the  ground,  and  then  grasping  the  cross- 
bow in  her  left  hand,  with  her  right  hand  passed  behind 
her  back,  she  would  let  fly  and  hit  it,  not  missing  once 
in  a  hundred  times.  She  was  also  very  particular  about 
her  friends,  receiving  no  one  unless  by  his  talents  he  had 
made  some  mark  in  the  world." 

The  poetical  effusions,  and  even  plays,  of  many  of 
these  ladies  have  been  carefully  preserved,  and  are 
usually  published  as  a  supplement  to  any  dynastic  col- 
lection. Here  is  a  specimen  by  CHAO  TS'AI-CHI  (fifteenth 
century),  of  whom  no  biography  is  extant : — 

"  The  tide  in  the  river  beginning  to  rise, 
Near  the  sad  hour  of  parting,  brings  tears  to  our  eyes; 
Alas  !  that  these  furlongs  of  willow-strings  gay 
Cannot  holdfast  the  boat  that  will  soon  be  away  !  " 

Another  specimen,  by  a  lady  named  CHAO  Ll-HUA 
(sixteenth  century),  contains  an  attempt  at  a  pun,  which 
is  rather  lamely  brought  out  in  the  translation  : — 

"  Your  notes  on  paper ;  rare  to  see, 

Two  flying  joy-birds  bear; 1 
Be  like  the  birds  and  fly  to  me, 
Not  like  the  paper,  rare  !  " 

These  examples  sufficiently  illustrate  this  small  depart- 
ment of  literature,  which,  if  deficient  in  work  of  real 
merit,  at  any  rate  contains  nothing  of  an  indelicate 
character. 

A  wild  harum-scarum  young  man  was  FANG  SHU-SHAO, 

1  Chinese  note-paper  is  ornamented  with  all  kinds  of  pictures,  which  some- 
times cover  the  whole  sheet. 


334  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

who,  like  many  other  Chinese  poets,  often  took  more 
wine  than  was  good  for  him.  He  was  famed  for  his 
poetry,  and  also  for  his  calligraphy,  specimens  of  his  art 
being  highly  prized  by  collectors.  In  1642,  we  are  told, 
"he  was  ill  with  his  teeth;"  and  at  length  got  into  his 
coffin,  which  all  Chinese  like  to  keep  handy,  and  wrote  a 
farewell  to  the  world,  resting  his  paper  on  the  edge  of 
the  coffin  as  he  wrote.  On  completion  of  the  piece  he 
laid  himself  down  and  died.  Here  are  the  lines  : — 

"  An  eternal  home  awaits  me; 

shall  I  hesitate  to  go  ? 
Or  struggle  for  a  few  more  hours 

of  fleeting  life  below  ? 
A  home  wherein  the  clash  of  arms 

I  can  never  hear  again  I 
And  shall  I  strive  to  linger 

in  this  thorny  world  of  pain  f 
The  breeze  will  soon  blow  cool  o'er  me, 

and  the  bright  moon  shine  derhead\ 
When  blended  with  the  gems  of  earth 

I  lie  in  my  last  bed. 
My  Pen  and  ink  shall  go  with  me 

inside  my  funeral  hearse, 
So  that  if  Pve  leisure  '  over  there ' 

I  may  soothe  my  soul  with  verse!' 


BOOK   THE   EIGHTH 

THE  MANCHU  DYNASTY  (A.D.  1644-1900) 


BOOK   THE   EIGHTH 
THE  MANCHU  D  YNASTY  (A.D.  1644-1900) 

CHAPTER  I 
THE  "LIAO  CHAI"— THE  "HUNG  LOU  MENG" 

BY  1644  the  glories  of  the  great  Ming  dynasty  had 
departed.  Misgovernment,  referred  by  Chinese  writers 
to  the  ascendency  of  eunuchs,  had  resulted  in  rebellion, 
and  the  rebel  chief  with  a  large  army  was  pressing  upon 
the  capital.  On  the  gth  April  Peking  fell.  During  the 
previous  night  the  Emperor,  who  had  refused  to  flee, 
slew  the  eldest  Princess,  commanded  the  Empress  to 
commit  suicide,  and  sent  his  three  sons  into  hiding. 
At  dawn  the  bell  was  struck  for  the  Court  to  assemble  ; 
but  no  one  came.  His  Majesty  then  ascended  the  Wan 
Sui  Hill  in  the  palace  grounds,  and  wrote  on  the  lapel 
of  his  robe  a  last  decree  : — "  We,  poor  in  virtue  and  of 
contemptible  personality,  have  incurred  the  wrath  of 
God  on  high.  My  Ministers  have  deceived  me.  I  am 
ashamed  to  meet  my  ancestors  ;  and  therefore  I  myself 
take  off  my  crown,  and,  with  my  hair  covering  my  face, 
await  dismemberment  at  the  hands  of  the  rebels.  Do 
not  hurt  a  single  one  of  my  people  !  "  He  then  hanged 

337 


338  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

himself,  as  did  one  faithful  eunuch.  At  this  juncture 
the  Chinese  commander-in-chief  made  overtures  to  the 
Manchu  Tartars,  who  had  long  been  consolidating  their 
forces,  and  were  already  a  serious  menace  to  China.  An 
agreement  was  hurriedly  entered  into,  and  Peking  was 
retaken.  The  Manchus  took  possession  definitively 
of  the  throne,  which  they  had  openly  claimed  since 
1635,  and  imposed  the  "pigtail"  upon  the  Chinese 
people. 

Here  then  was  the  great  empire  of  China,  bounded 
by  the  Four  Seas,  and  stretching  to  the  confines  of  the 
habitable  earth,  except  for  a  few  barbarian  islands  scat- 
tered on  its  fringe,  with  its  refined  and  scholarly  people, 
heirs  to  a  glorious  literature  more  than  twenty  centuries 
old,  in  the  power  of  a  wild  race  of  herdsmen,  whose 
title  had  been  established  by  skill  in  archery  and  horse- 
manship. Not  much  was  to  be  expected  on  behalf  of 
the  "  humanities "  from  a  people  whose  own  written 
language  had  been  composed  to  order  so  late  as  1599, 
and  whose  literary  instincts  had  still  to  be  developed. 
Yet  it  may  be  said  without  fear  of  contradiction  that  no 
age  ever  witnessed  anything  like  the  extensive  encourage- 
ment of  literature  and  patronage  of  literary  men  ex- 
hibited under  the  reigns  of  two  Emperors  of  this  dynasty. 
Of  this,  however,  in  the  next  chapter. 

The  literature  of  this  dynasty  may  be  said  to  begin 
with  a  writer  who  was  after  all  but  a  mere  storyteller. 
It  has  already  been  stated  that  novels  and  plays  are  not 
included  by  the  Chinese  in  the  domain  of  pure  literature. 
Such  is  the  rule,  to  which  there  is  in  practice,  if  not  in 
theory,  one  very  notable  exception. 

P'u  SUNG-LANG,  author  of  the  Liao  Chai  Chih  I,  which 
may  be  conveniently  rendered  by  "  Strange  Stories," 


P'U  SUNG-LING  339 

was  born  in  1622,  and  took  his  first  degree  in  1641. 
Though  an  excellent  scholar  and  a  most  polished  writer, 
he  failed,  as  many  other  good  men  have  done,  to  take 
the  higher  degrees  by  which  he  had  hoped  to  enter 
upon  an  official  career.  It  is  generally  understood  that 
this  failure  was  due  to  neglect  of  the  beaten  track  of 
academic  study.  At  any  rate,  his  disappointment  was 
overwhelming.  All  else  that  we  have  on  record  of  P'u 
Sung-ling,  besides  the  fact  that  he  lived  in  close  com- 
panionship with  several  eminent  scholars  of  the  day,  is 
gathered  from  his  own  words,  written  when,  in  1679,  he 
laid  down  his  pen  upon  the  completion  of  a  task  which 
was  to  raise  him  within  a  short  period  to  a  foremost 
rank  in  the  Chinese  world  of  letters.  The  following  are 
extracts  from  this  record  : — 

"  Clad  in  wistaria,  girdled  with  ivy,1 — thus  sang  Ch'ii 
Yuan  in  his  Li  Sao.  Of  ox-headed  devils  and  serpent 
gods,  he  of  the  long  nails2  never  wearied  to  tell. 
Each  interprets  in  his  own  way  the  music  of  heaven  ; 
and  whether  it  be  discord  or  not,  depends  upon  ante- 
cedent causes.  As  for  me,  I  cannot,  with  my  poor 
autumn  firefly's  light,  match  myself  against  the  hob- 
goblins of  the  age.3  I  am  but  the  dust  in  the  sunbeam, 

1  Said  of  the  bogies  of  the  hills,  in  allusion  to  their  clothes.  Here  quoted 
with  reference  to  the  official  classes,  in  ridicule  of  the  title  under  which 
they  hold  posts  which,  from  a  literary  point  of  view,  they  are  totally  unfit  to 
occupy. 

•  A  poet  of  the  T'ang  dynasty,  whose  eyebrows  met,  whose  nails  were  very 
long,  and  who  could  write  very  fast. 

s  This  is  another  hit  at  the  ruling  classes.  Hsi  K'ang,  the  celebrated  poet, 
musician,  and  alchemist  (A.D.  223-262),  was  sitting  one  night  alone,  playing 
upon  his  lute,  when  suddenly  a  man  with  a  tiny  face  walked  in,  and  began 
to  stare  hard  at  him,  the  stranger's  face  enlarging  all  the  time.  "  I'm  not  going 
to  match  myself  against  a  devil ! "  cried  the  musician  after  a  few  moments, 
and  instantly  blew  out  the  light. 


340  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

a  fit  laughing-stock  for  devils.1  For  my  talents  are  not 
those  of  Yii  Pao,2  elegant  explorer  of  the  records  of  the 
gods  ;  I  am  rather  animated  by  the  spirit  of  Su  Tung-p'o, 
who  loved  to  hear  men  speak  of  the  supernatural.  I  get 
people  to  commit  what  they  tell  me  to  writing,  and  sub- 
sequently I  dress  it  up  in  the  form  of  a  story ;  and  thus 
in  the  lapse  of  time  my  friends  from  all  quarters  have 
supplied  me  with  quantities  of  material,  which,  from  my 
habit  of  collecting,  has  grown  into  a  vast  pile. 

"When  the  bow3  was  hung  at  my  father's  door,  he 
dreamed  that  a  sickly-looking  Buddhist  priest,  but  half- 
covered  by  his  stole,  entered  the  chamber.  On  one  of 
his  breasts  was  a  round  piece  of  plaster  like  a  cash;  and 
my  father,  waking  from  sleep,  found  that  I,  just  born, 
had  a  similar  black  patch  on  my  body.  As  a  child,  I  was 
thin  and  constantly  ailing,  and  unable  to  hold  my  own 
in  the  battle  of  life.  Our  home  was  chill  and  desolate  as 
a  monastery  ;  and  working  there  for  my  livelihood  with 
my  pen,  I  was  as  poor  as  a  priest  with  his  alms-bowl. 
Often  and  often  I  put  my  hand  to  my  head  and  exclaimed, 
*  Surely  he  who  sat  with  his  face  to  the  wall 4  was  myself 

1  When  Liu  Chiian,  Governor  of  Wu-ling,  determined  to  relieve  his  poverty 
by  trade,  he  saw  a  devil  standing  by  his  side,  laughing  and  rubbing  its  hands 
for  glee.      "  Poverty  and  wealth  are  matters  of  destiny,"  said  Liu  Chiian, 
"but  to  be  laughed  at  by  a  devil — ,"  and  accordingly  he  desisted  from  his 
intention. 

2  A  writer  who  flourished  in  the  early  part  of  the  fourth  century,  and  com- 
posed a  work  in  thirty  books,  entitled  "  Supernatural  Researches." 

3  The  birth  of  a  boy  was  formerly  signalled  by  hanging  a  bow  at  the  door  ; 
that  of  a  girl,  by  displaying  a  small  towel — indicative  of  the  parts  that  each 
would  hereafter  play  in  the  drama  of  life. 

4  Alluding  to  the  priest  Dharma-nandi,  who  came  from  India  to  China,  and 
tried  to  convert  the  Emperor  Wu  Ting  of  the  Liang  dynasty  ;  but  failing  in 
his  attempt,  he  retired  full  of  mortification  to  a  temple  at  Sung-shan,  where 
he  sat  for  nine  years  before   a  rock,   until   his  own   image  was   imprinted 
thereon. 


P'U  SUNG-LING  341 

in  a  previous  state  of  existence  ; '  and  thus  I  referred  my 
non-success  in  this  life  to  the  influence  of  a  destiny  sur- 
viving from  the  last.  I  have  been  tossed  hither  and 
thither  in  the  direction  of  the  ruling  wind,  like  a  flower 
falling  in  filthy  places  ;  but  the  six  paths l  of  transmigra- 
tion are  inscrutable  indeed,  and  I  have  no  right  to  com- 
plain. As  it  is,  midnight  finds  me  with  an  expiring  lamp, 
while  the  wind  whistles  mournfully  without;  and  over  my 
cheerless  table  I  piece  together  my  tales,  vainly  hoping 
to  produce  a  sequel  to  the  Infernal  Regions?  With  a 
bumper  I  stimulate  my  pen,  yet  I  only  succeed  thereby 
in  '  venting  my  excited  feelings/  and  as  I  thus  commit 
my  thoughts  to  writing,  truly  I  am  an  object  worthy  of 
commiseration.  Alas  !  I  am  but  the  bird  that,  dreading 
the  winter  frost,  finds  no  shelter  in  the  tree,  the  autumn 
insect  that  chirps  to  the  moon  and  hugs  the  door  for 
warmth.  For  where  are  they  who  know  me  ?  They  are 
'  in  the  bosky  grove  and  at  the  frontier  pass ' 3 — wrapped 
in  an  impenetrable  gloom  ! " 

For  many  years  these  "  Strange  Stories "  circulated 
only  in  manuscript.  P'u  Sung-ling,  as  we  are  told  in  a 
colophon  by  his  grandson  to  the  first  edition,  was  too 
poor  to  meet  the  heavy  expense  of  block-cutting ;  and  it 
was  not  until  so  late  as  1740,  when  the  author  must  have 
been  already  for  some  time  a  denizen  of  the  dark  land 

1  The  six  g&ti  or  conditions  of  existence,  viz.,  angels,  men,  demons, 
hungry  devils,  brute  beasts,  and  tortured  sinners. 

3  The  work  of  a  well-known  writer,  named  Lin  I-ch'ing,  who  flourished 
during  the  Sung  dynasty. 

8  The  great  poet  Tu  Fu  dreamt  that  his  greater  predecessor,  Li  T'ai-po, 
appeared  to  him,  "coining  when  the  maple-grove  was  in  darkness,  and 
returning  while  the  frontier  pass  was  still  obscured," — that  is,  at  night,  when 
no  one  could  see  him  ;  the  meaning  being  that  he  never  came  at  all,  and  that 
those  "  who  know  me  (P'u  Sung-ling)  "  are  equally  non-existent. 


342  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

he  so  much  loved  to  describe,  that  his  aforesaid  grandson 
printed  and  published  the  collection  now  so  universally 
famous.  Since  then  many  editions  have  been  laid  before 
the  Chinese  public,  the  best  of  which  is  that  by  Tan 
Ming-lun,  a  Salt  Commissioner,  who  flourished  during 
the  reign  of  Tao  Kuang,  and  who  in  1842  produced,  at 
his  own  expense,  an  excellent  edition  in  sixteen  small 
octavo  volumes  of  about  160  pages  each. 

Any  reader  of  these  stories  as  transferred  into  another 
language  might  fairly  turn  round  and  ask  the  why  and 
the  wherefore  of  the  profound  admiration — to  use  a  mild 
term — which  is  universally  accorded  to  them  by  the 
literati  of  China.  The  answer  is  to  be  found  in  the 
incomparable  style  in  which  even  the  meanest  of  them 
is  arrayed.  All  the  elements  of  form  which  make  for 
beauty  in  Chinese  composition  are  there  in  overwhelming 
force.  Terseness  is  pushed  to  its  extreme  limits  ;  each 
particle  that  can  be  safely  dispensed  with  is  scrupulously 
eliminated,  and  every  here  and  there  some  new  and 
original  combination  invests  perhaps  a  single  word  with 
a  force  it  could  never  have  possessed  except  under  the 
hands  of  a  perfect  master  of  his  art.  Add  to  the  above 
copious  allusions  and  adaptations  from  a  course  of  read- 
ing which  would  seem  to  have  been  co-extensive  with 
the  whole  range  of  Chinese  literature,  a  wealth  of  meta- 
phor and  an  artistic  use  of  figures  generally,  to  which 
only  the  writings  of  Carlyle  form  an  adequate  parallel, 
and  the  result  is  a  work  which  for  purity  and  beauty  of 
style  is  now  universally  accepted  in  China  as  among  the 
best  and  most  perfect  models.  Sometimes  the  story  runs 
plainly  and  smoothly  enough,  but  the  next  moment  we 
may  be  plunged  into  pages  of  abstruse  text,  the  meaning 
of  which  is  so  involved  in  quotations  from  and  allusions 


P*U  SUNG-LING  343 

to  the  poetry  or  history  of  the  past  three  thousand  years 
as  to  be  recoverable  only  after  diligent  perusal  of  the 
commentary,  and  much  searching  in  other  works  of 
reference. 

Premising  that,  according  to  one  editor,  the  intention 
of  most  of  these  stories  is  to  "  glorify  virtue  and  to  censure 
vice,"  the  following  story,  entitled  "The  Talking  Pupils," 
may  be  taken  as  a  fair  illustration  of  the  extent  to  which 
this  pledge  is  redeemed  : — 

"At  Ch'ang-an  there  lived  a  scholar  named  Fang 
Tung,  who,  though  by  no  means  destitute  of  ability,  was 
a  very  unprincipled  rake,  and  in  the  habit  of  following 
and  speaking  to  any  woman  he  might  chance  to  meet. 
The  day  before  the  spring  festival  of  Clear  Weather  he 
was  strolling  about  outside  the  city  when  he  saw  a  small 
carriage  with  red  curtains  and  an  embroidered  awning, 
followed  by  a  crowd  of  waiting-maids  on  horseback, 
one  of  whom  was  exceedingly  pretty  and  riding  on  a 
small  palfrey.  Going  closer  to  get  a  better  view,  Mr.  Fang 
noticed  that  the  carriage  curtain  was  partly  open,  and 
inside  he  beheld  a  beautifully  dressed  girl  of  about  six- 
teen, lovely  beyond  anything  he  had  ever  seen.  Dazzled 
by  the  sight,  he  could  not  take  his  eyes  off  her,  and 
now  before,  now  behind,  he  followed  the  carriage  for 
many  a  mile.  By  and  by  he  heard  the  young  lady  call 
out  to  her  maid,  and,  when  the  latter  came  alongside, 
say  to  her,  '  Let  down  the  screen  for  me.  Who  is  this 
rude  fellow  that  keeps  on  staring  so  ? '  The  maid 
accordingly  let  down  the  screen,  and  looking  angrily 
at  Mr.  Fang,  said  to  him,  'This  is  the  bride  of  the 
Seventh  Prince  in  the  City  of  Immortals  going  home 
to  see  her  parents,  and  no  village  girl  that  you  should 
stare  at  her  thus.'  Then  taking  a  handful  of  dust  she 


344  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

threw  it  at  him  and  blinded  him.  He  rubbed  his  eyes 
and  looked  round,  but  the  carriage  and  horses  were 
gone.  This  frightened  him,  and  he  went  off  home,  feel- 
ing very  uncomfortable  about  the  eyes.  He  sent  for  a 
doctor  to  examine  them,  and  on  the  pupils  was  found 
a  small  film,  which  had  increased  by  next  morning,  the 
eyes  watering  incessantly  all  the  time.  The  film  went 
on  growing,  and  in  a  few  days  was  as  thick  as  a  cash. 
On  the  right  pupil  there  came  a  kind  of  spiral,  and  as 
no  medicine  was  of  any  avail,  the  sufferer  gave  himself 
up  to  grief  and  wished  for  death.  He  then  bethought 
himself  of  repenting  of  his  misdeeds,  and  hearing  that 
the  Kuang-ming  stitra  could  relieve  misery,  he  got  a  copy 
and  hired  a  man  to  teach  it  to  him.  At  first  it  was  very 
tedious  work,  but  by  degrees  he  became  more  composed, 
and  spent  every  evening  in  a  posture  of  devotion,  telling 
his  beads.  At  the  end  of  a  year  he  had  arrived  at  a  state 
of  perfect  calm,  when  one  day  he  heard  a  small  voice, 
about  as  loud  as  a  fly's,  calling  out  from  his  left  eye, 
4  It's  horridly  dark  in  here.'  To  this  he  heard  a 
reply  from  the  right  eye,  saying,  '  Let  us  go  out  for  a 
stroll,  and  cheer  ourselves  up  a  bit.'  Then  he  felt 
a  wriggling  in  his  nose  which  made  it  itch,  just  as 
if  something  was  going  out  of  each  of  his  nostrils, 
and  after  a  while  he  felt  it  again  as  if  going  the 
other  way.  Afterwards  he  heard  a  voice  from  one 
eye  say,  '  I  hadn't  seen  the  garden  for  a  long  time ; 
the  epidendrums  are  all  withered  and  dead.'  Now  Mr. 
Fang  was  very  fond  of  these  epidendrums,  of  which  he 
had  planted  a  great  number,  and  had  been  accustomed 
to  water  them  himself,  but  since  the  loss  of  his  sight 
he  had  never  even  alluded  to  them.  Hearing,  however, 
these  words,  he  at  once  asked  his  wife  why  she  had  let  the 


P'U  SUNG-LING  345 

epidendrums  die.  She  inquired  how  he  knew  they  were 
dead,  and  when  he  told  her,  she  went  out  to  see,  and 
found  them  actually  withered  away.  They  were  both 
very  much  astonished  at  this,  and  his  wife  proceeded  to 
conceal  herself  in  the  room.  She  then  observed  two 
tiny  people,  no  bigger  than  a  bean,  come  down  from 
her  husband's  nose  and  run  out  of  the  door,  where  she 
lost  sight  of  them.  In  a  little  while  they  came  back 
and  flew  up  to  his  face,  like  bees  or  beetles  seeking  their 
nests.  This  went  on  for  some  days  until  Mr.  Fang 
heard  from  the  left  eye,  'This  roundabout  road  is  not 
at  all  convenient.  It  would  be  as  well  for  us  to  make  a 
door.'  To  this  the  right  eye  answered,  '  My  wall  is  too 
thick ;  it  wouldn't  be  at  all  an  easy  job.'  '  I'll  try  and 
open  mine,'  said  the  left  eye,  'and  then  it  will  do  for 
both  of  us.'  Whereupon  Mr.  Fang  felt  a  pain  in  his 
left  eye  as  if  something  was  being  split,  and  in  a  moment 
he  found  he  could  see  the  tables  and  chairs  in  the  room. 
He  was  delighted  at  this,  and  told  his  wife,  who  exam- 
ined his  eye  and  discovered  an  opening  in  the  film, 
through  which  she  could  see  the  black  pupil  shining 
out  beneath,  the  eyeball  itself  looking  like  a  cracked 
peppercorn.  By  next  morning  the  film  had  disappeared, 
and  when  his  eye  was  closely  examined  it  was  observed  to 
contain  two  pupils.  The  spiral  on  the  right  eye  remained 
as  before,  and  then  they  knew  that  the  two  pupils  had 
taken  up  their  abode  in  one  eye.  Further,  although  Mr. 
Fang  was  still  blind  of  one  eye,  the  sight  of  the  other  was 
better  than  that  of  the  two  together.  From  this  time  he 
was  more  careful  of  his  behaviour,  and  acquired  in  his 
part  of  the  country  the  reputation  of  a  virtuous  man." 

To  take  another  specimen,  this  time  with  a  dash  of 


346  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

humour  in  it.  A  certain  man,  named  Wang  (anglicl 
Smith),  decided  to  study  Tao — in  other  words,  the  black 
art — at  a  temple  of  the  Taoist  persuasion.  The  priest, 
who  seems  to  have  had  a  touch  of  Squeers  in  his  com- 
position, warned  Wang  that  he  would  probably  not  be 
able  to  stand  the  training ;  but  on  the  latter  insisting, 
the  priest  allowed  him  to  join  the  other  novices,  and 
then  sent  him  to  chop  wood.  He  was  kept  at  this  task 
so  long  that,  although  he  managed  to  witness  several 
extraordinary  feats  of  magical  skill  performed  by  the 
priest,  he  scarcely  felt  that  he  was  making  progress 
himself. 

"  After  a  time  he  could  not  stand  it  any  longer ;  and 
as  the  priest  taught  him  no  magical  arts,  he  determined 
not  to  wait,  but  went  to  him  and  said,  '  Sir,  I  travelled 
many  long  miles  for  the  benefit  of  your  instruction.  If 
you  will  not  teach  me  the  secret  of  immortality,  let  me, 
at  any  rate,  learn  some  trifling  trick,  and  thus  soothe  my 
cravings  for  a  knowledge  of  your  art.  I  have  now  been 
here  two  or  three  months,  doing  nothing  but  chop  fire- 
wood, out  in  the  morning  and  back  at  night,  work  to 
which  I  was  never  accustomed  in  my  own  home.' 
'  Did  I  not  tell  you,'  replied  the  priest,  '  that  you 
would  never  support  the  fatigue  ?  To-morrow  I  will 
start  you  on  your  way  home.'  '  Sir,'  said  Wang,  '  I 
have  worked  for  you  a  long  time.  Teach  me  some  small 
art,  that  my  coming  here  may  not  have  been  wholly  in 
vain.'  '  What  art  ? '  asked  the  priest.  '  Well,'  answered 
Wang,  '  I  have  noticed  that  whenever  you  walk  about 
anywhere,  walls  and  so  on  are  no  obstacle  to  you.  Teach 
me  this,  and  I'll  be  satisfied.'  The  priest  laughingly 
assented,  and  taught  Wang  a  formula  which  he  bade 
him  recite.  When  he  had  done  so  he  told  him  to  walk 


P"U  SUNG-LING  347 

through  the  wall ;  but  Wang,  seeing  the  wall  in  front  of 
him,  didn't  like  to  walk  at  it.  As,  however,  the  priest 
bade  him  try,  he  walked  quietly  up  to  it  and  was  there 
stopped.  The  priest  here  called  out,  '  Don't  go  so 
slowly.  Put  your  head  down  and  rush  at  it.'  So  Wang 
stepped  back  a  few  paces  and  went  at  it  full  speed  ;  and 
the  wall  yielding  to  him  as  he  passed,  in  a  moment  he 
found  himself  outside.  Delighted  at  this,  he  went  in  to 
thank  the  priest,  who  told  him  to  be  careful  in  the  use 
of  his  power,  or  otherwise  there  would  be  no  response, 
handing  him  at  the  same  time  some  money  for  his 
expenses  on  the  way.  When  Wang  got  home,  he  went 
about  bragging  of  his  Taoist  friends  and  his  contempt  for 
walls  in  general ;  but  as  his  wife  disbelieved  his  story, 
he  set  about  going  through  the  performance  as  before. 
Stepping  back  from  the  wall,  he  rushed  at  it  full  speed 
with  his  head  down  ;  but  coming  in  contact  with  the 
hard  bricks,  finished  up  in  a  heap  on  the  floor.  His  wife 
picked  him  up  and  found  he  had  a  bump  on  his  forehead 
as  big  as  a  large  egg,  at  which  she  roared  with  laughter  ; 
but  Wang  was  overwhelmed  with  rage  and  shame,  and 
cursed  the  old  priest  for  his  base  ingratitude." 

Episodes  with  a  familiar  ring  about  them  are  often  to 
be  found  embedded  in  this  collection.  For  instance  : — 

"  She  then  became  a  dense  column  of  smoke  curling 
up  from  the  ground,  when  the  priest  took  an  uncorked 
gourd  and  threw  it  right  into  the  midst  of  the  smoke.  A 
sucking  noise  was  heard,  and  the  whole  column  was 
drawn  into  the  gourd ;  after  which  the  priest  corked  it 
up  closely  and  put  it  in  his  pouch." 

Of  such  points  the  following  story  contains  another 
good  example : — 


348  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

"  A  countryman  was  one  day  selling  his  pears  in  the 
market.  They  were  unusually  sweet  and  fine  flavoured, 
and  the  price  he  asked  was  high.  A  Taoist  priest  in  rags 
and  tatters  stopped  at  the  barrow  and  begged  one  of 
them.  The  countryman  told  him  to  go  away,  but  as  he 
did  not  do  so,  he  began  to  curse  and  swear  at  him.  The 
priest  said,  '  You  have  several  hundred  pears  on  your 
barrow ;  I  ask  for  a  single  one,  the  loss  of  which,  sir, 
you  would  not  feel.  Why  then  get  angry?'  The 
lookers-on  told  the  countryman  to  give  him  an  inferior 
one  and  let  him  go;  but  this  he  obstinately  refused  to  do. 
Thereupon  the  beadle  of  the  place,  finding  the  commotion 
too  great,  purchased  a  pear  and  handed  it  to  the  priest. 
The  latter  received  it  with  a  bow,  and  turning  to  the  crowd 
said,  'We  who  have  left  our  homes  and  given  up  all 
that  is  dear  to  us,  are  at  a  loss  to  understand  selfish, 
niggardly  conduct  in  others.  Now  I  have  some  exquisite 
pears  which  I  shall  do  myself  the  honour  to  put  before 
you.'  Here  somebody  asked,  'Since  you  have  pears 
yourself  why  don't  you  eat  those  ? '  '  Because,'  replied 
the  priest,  '  I  wanted  one  of  these  pips  to  grow  them 
from.'  So  saying  he  munched  up  the  pear  ;  and  when 
he  had  finished  took  a  pip  in  his  hand,  unstrapped  a 
pick  from  his  back,  and  proceeded  to  make  a  hole  in 
the  ground  several  inches  deep,  wherein  he  deposited 
the  pip,  filling  in  the  earth  as  before.  He  then  asked  the 
bystanders  for  a  little  hot  water  to  water  it  with,  and 
one  among  them  who  loved  a  joke  fetched  him  some 
boiling  water  from  a  neighbouring  shop.  The  priest 
poured  this  over  the  place  where  he  had  made  the  hole, 
and  every  eye  was  fixed  upon  him  when  sprouts  were 
seen  shooting  up,  and  gradually  growing  larger  and 
larger.  By  and  by  there  was  a  tree  with  branchec 


P'U  SUNG-LING  349 

sparsely  covered  with  leaves ;  then  flowers,  and  last  of 
all  fine,  large,  sweet-smelling  pears  hanging  in  great 
profusion.  These  the  priest  picked  and  handed  round 
to  the  assembled  crowd  until  all  were  gone,  when  he 
took  his  pick  and  hacked  away  for  a  long  time  at  the 
tree,  finally  cutting  it  down.  This  he  shouldered,  leaves 
and  all,  and  sauntered  quietly  away.  Now  from  the 
very  beginning  our  friend  the  countryman  had  been 
amongst  the  crowd,  straining  his  neck  to  see  what  was 
going  on,  and  forgetting  all  about  his  business.  At  the 
departure  of  the  priest  he  turned  round  and  discovered 
that  every  one  of  his  pears  was  gone.  He  then  knew 
that  those  the  old  fellow  had  been  giving  away  so  freely 
were  really  his  own  pears.  Looking  more  closely  at  the 
barrow,  he  also  found  that  one  of  the  handles  was 
missing,  evidently  having  been  newly  cut  off.  Boiling 
with  rage,  he  set  out  in  pursuit  of  the  priest,  and  just 
as  he  turned  the  corner  he  saw  the  lost  barrow-handle 
lying  under  the  wall,  being,  in  fact,  the  very  pear-tree 
that  the  priest  had  cut  down.  But  there  were  no  traces 
of  the  priest,  much  to  the  amusement  of  the  crowd  in 
the  market-place." 

Here  again  is  a  scene,  the  latter  part  of  which  would 
almost  justify  the  belief  that  Mr.  W.  S.  Gilbert  was  a 
student  of  Chinese,  and  had  borrowed  some  of  his  best 
points  in  "Sweethearts"  from  the  author  of  the  Liao 
Chai  : — 

"  Next  day  Wang  strolled  into  the  garden,  which  was  of 
moderate  size,  with  a  well-kept  lawn  and  plenty  of  trees 
and  flowers.  There  was  also  an  arbour  consisting  of 
three  posts  with  a  thatched  roof,  quite  shut  in  on  ali 
sides  by  the  luxuriant  vegetation.  Pushing  his  way 


350  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

among  the  flowers,  Wang  heard  a  noise  from  one  oi 
the  trees,  and  looking  up  saw  Ying-ning,  who  at  once 
burst  out  laughing  and  nearly  fell  down.  '  Don't .' 
don't ! '  cried  Wang,  '  you'll  fall  ! '  Then  Ying-ning 
came  down,  giggling  all  the  time,  until,  when  she  was 
near  the  ground,  she  missed  her  hold  and  tumbled 
down  with  a  run.  This  stopped  her  merriment,  and 
Wang  picked  her  up,  gently  squeezing  her  hand  as  he 
did  so.  Ying-ning  began  laughing  again,  and  was 
obliged  to  lean  against  a  tree  for  support,  it  being  some 
time  before  she  was  able  to  stop.  Wang  waited  till  she 
had  finished,  and  then  drew  the  flower  out  of  his  sleeve 
and  handed  it  to  her.  '  It's  dead,'  said  she;  '  why  do  you 
keep  it  ? '  '  You  dropped  it,  cousin,  at  the  Feast  of 
Lanterns/  replied  Wang,  'and  so  I  kept  it.'  She  then 
asked  him  what  was  his  object  in  keeping  it,  to  which  he 
answered,  '  To  show  my  love,  and  that  I  have  not  for- 
gotten you.  Since  that  day  when  we  met  I  have  been 
very  ill  from  thinking  so  much  of  you,  and  am  quite 
changed  from  what  I  was.  But  now  that  it  is  my 
unexpected  good  fortune  to  meet  you,  I  pray  you  have 
pity  on  me.'  'You  needn't  make  such  a  fuss  about  a 
trifle/  replied  she,  '  and  with  your  own  relatives  too. 
I'll  give  orders  to  supply  you  with  a  whole  basketful 
i  ^  flowers  when  you  go  away.'  Wang  told  her  she 
did  not  understand,  and  when  she  asked  what  it  was 
she  didn't  understand,  he  said,  '  I  didn't  care  for  the 
flower  itself ;  it  was  the  person  who  picked  the  flower.' 
'  Of  course/  answered  she,  '  everybody  cares  for  their 
relations  ;  you  needn't  have  told  me  that.'  '  I  wasn't 
talking  about  ordinary  relations/  said  Wang,  '  but  about 
husbands  and  wives.'  '  What's  the  difference  ? '  asked 
Ying-ning.  '  Why/  replied  Wang,  '  husband  and  wife 


SUNG-LING  351 

are  always  together.'  'Just  what  I  shouldn't  like/  cried 
she,  'to  be  always  with  anybody.'" 

The  pair  were  ultimately  united,  and  lived  happily 
ever  afterwards,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  young  lady 
subsequently  confessed  that  she  was  the  daughter  of  a 
fox,  and  exhibited  supernatural  powers.  On  one  occa- 
sion these  powers  stood  her  in  good  stead.  Being  very 
fond  of  flowers,  she  went  so  far  as  to  pick  from  a  neigh- 
bour's tree. 

"  One  day  the  owner  saw  her,  and  gazed  at  her  some 
time  in  rapt  astonishment ;  however,  she  didn't  move, 
deigning  only  to  laugh.  The  gentleman  was  much 
smitten  with  her  ;  and  when  she  smilingly  descended 
the  wall  on  her  own  side,  pointing  all  the  time  with 
her  finger  to  a  spot  hard  by,  he  thought  she  was 
making  an  assignation.  So  he  presented  himself  at 
nightfall  at  the  same  place,  and  sure  enough  Ying-ning 
was  there.  Seizing  her  hand  to  tell  his  passion,  he 
found  that  he  was  grasping  only  a  log  of  wood  which 
stood  against  the  wall ;  and  the  next  thing  he  knew 
was  that  a  scorpion  had  stung  him  violently  on  the 
finder.  There  \vas  an  end  of  his  romance,  except  that 
he  died  of  the  wound  during  the  night." 

In  one  of  the  stories  a  visitor  at  a  temple  is  much 
struck  by  a  fresco  painting  containing  the  picture  of  a 
lovely  girl  picking  flowers,  and  stands  in  rapt  admiration 
before  it.  Then  he  feels  himself  borne  gently  into  the 
painted  wall,  a  la  ''Alice  through  the  Looking-glass," 
and  in  the  region  beyond  plays  a  part  in  a  domestic 
drama,  finally  marrying  the  heroine  of  the  picture. 
But  the  presence  of  a  mortal  being  suspected  by  "a 
man  in  golden  armour  with  a  face  as  black  as  jet," 


352  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

he  was  glad  to  make  his  way  back  again  ;  and  when 
he  rejoined  a  friend  who  had  been  waiting  for  him, 
they  noticed  that  the  girl  in  the  picture  now  wore  her 
hair  done  up  as  a  married  woman. 

There  is  a  Rip  van  Winkle  story,  with  the  pathetic 
return  of  the  hero  to  find,  as  the  Chinese  poet  says — 

"  City  and  suburb  as  of  old, 
But  hearts  that  loved  us  long  since  cold" 

There  is  a  sea-serpent  story,  and  a  story  of  a  big  bird 
or  rukh  ;  also  a  story  about  a  Jonah,  who,  in  obedience 
to  an  order  flashed  by  lightning  on  the  sky  when  their 
junk  was  about  to  be  swamped  in  a  storm,  was  trans- 
ferred by  his  fellow-passengers  to  a  small  boat  and  cut 
adrift.  So  soon  as  the  unfortunate  victim  had  collected 
his  senses  and  could  look  about  him,  he  found  that 
the  junk  had  capsized  and  that  every  soul  had  been 
drowned. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  story  in  which  a 
young  student  named  Liu  falls  in  love  with  a  girl  named 
Feng-hsien,  who  was  .the  daughter  of  a  fox,  and  therefore 
possessed  of  the  miraculous  powers  which  the  Chinese 
associate  with  that  animal : — 

" '  But  if  you  would  really  like  to  have  something  that 
has  belonged  to  me,'  said  she,  '  you  shall.'  Whereupon 
she  took  out  a  mirror  and  gave  it  to  him,  saying,  '  When- 
ever you  want  to  see  me,  you  must  look  for  me  in  your 
books ;  otherwise  I  shall  not  be  visible ; '  and  in  a 
moment  she  had  vanished.  Liu  went  home  very  melan- 
choly at  heart ;  but  when  he  looked  in  the  mirror,  there 
was  Feng-hsien  standing  with  her  back  to  him,  gazing, 
as  it  were,  at  some  one  who  was  going  away,  and  about 


P'U  SUNG-LING  353 

a  hundred  paces  from  her.  He  then  bethought  himself 
of  her  injunctions,  and  settled  down  to  his  studies,  refus- 
ing to  receive  any  visitors  ;  and  a  few  days  subsequently, 
when  he  happened  to  look  in  the  mirror,  there  was 
Feng-hsien,  with  her  face  turned  towards  him,  and 
smiling  in  every  feature.  After  this,  he  was  always 
taking  out  the  mirror  to  look  at  her.  However,  in  about 
a  month  his  good  resolutions  began  to  disappear,  and  he 
once  more  went  out  to  enjoy  himself  and  waste  his  time 
as  before.  When  he  returned  home  and  looked  in  the 
mirror,  Feng-hsien  seemed  to  be  crying  bitterly ;  and 
the  day  after,  when  he  looked  at  her  again,  she  had  her 
back  turned  towards  him  as  on  the  day  he  received  the 
mirror.  He  now  knew  that  it  was  because  he  had 
neglected  his  studies,  and  forthwith  set  to  work  again 
with  all  diligence,  until  in  a  month's  time  she  had 
turned  round  once  again.  Henceforward,  whenever 
anything  interrupted  his  progress,  Feng-hsien's  counte- 
nance became  sad ;  but  whenever  he  was  getting  on 
well  her  sadness  was  changed  to  smiles.  Night  and 
morning  Liu  would  look  at  the  mirror,  regarding  it  quite 
in  the  light  of  a  revered  preceptor,  and  in  three  years' 
time  he  took  his  degree  in  triumph.  '  Now/  cried  he, 
'  I  shall  be  able  to  look  Feng-hsien  in  the  face.'  And 
there  sure  enough  she  was,  with  her  delicately-pencilled 
arched  eyebrows,  and  her  teeth  just  showing  between 
her  lips,  as  happy-looking  as  she  could  be,  when,  all  of  a 
sudden,  she  seemed  to  speak,  and  Liu  heard  her  say,  '  A 
pretty  pair  we  make,  I  must  allow/  and  the  next  moment 
Feng-hsien  stood  by  his  side." 

Here  is  a  story  of  the  nether  world,  a  favourite  theme 
with  P'u  Sung-ling.     It  illustrates  the  popular  belief  thaf 


354  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

at  death  a  man's  soul  is  summoned  to  Purgatory  by 
spiritual  lictors,  who  are  even  liable  to  make  mistakes. 
Cataleptic  fits  or  trances  give  rise  to  many  similar  tales 
about  persons  visiting  the  realms  below  and  being  after- 
wards restored  to  life. 

"  A  man  named  Chang  died  suddenly,  and  was  escorted 
at  once  by  devil-lictors  into  the  presence  of  the  King  of 
Purgatory.  His  Majesty  turned  to  Chang's  record  of 
good  and  evil,  and  then,  in  great  anger,  told  the  lictors 
they  had  brought  the  wrong  man,  and  bade  them  take 
him  back  again.  As  they  left  the  judgment-hall,  Chang 
persuaded  his  escort  to  let  him  have  a  look  at  Purgatory, 
and  accordingly  the  devils  conducted  him  through  the 
nine  sections,  pointing  out  to  him  the  Knife  Hill,  the 
Sword  Tree,  and  other  objects  of  interest.  By  and  by 
they  reached  a  place  where  there  was  a  Buddhist  priest 
hanging  suspended  in  the  air,  head  downwards,  by  a 
rope  through  a  hole  in  his  leg.  He  was  shrieking  with 
pain  and  longing  for  death  ;  and  when  Chang  approached, 
lo  !  he  saw  that  it  was  his  own  brother.  In  great  distress, 
he  asked  his  guides  the  reason  of  this  punishment,  and 
they  informed  him  that  the  priest  was  suffering  thus 
for  collecting  subscriptions  on  behalf  of  his  order,  and 
then  privately  squandering  the  proceeds  in  gambling 
and  debauchery.  '  Nor,'  added  they,  '  will  he  escape  this 
torment  unless  he  repents  him  of  his  misdeeds.'  When 
Chang  came  round,  he  thought  his  brother  was  already 
dead,  and  hurried  off  to  the  Hsing-fu  monastery,  to 
which  the  latter  belonged.  As  he  went  in  at  the  door 
he  heard  a  loud  shrieking,  and  on  proceeding  to  his 
brother's  room,  he  found  him  laid  up  with  a  very  bad 
abscess  in  his  leg,  the  leg  itself  being  tied  up  above  him 
to  the  wall,  this  being,  as  his  brother  informed  him,  the 


THE  HUNG  LOU  M&NG  355 

only  bearable  position  in  which  he  could  lie.  Chang 
now  told  him  what  he  had  seen  in  Purgatory,  at  which 
the  priest  was  so  terrified  that  he  at  once  gave  up  taking 
wine  and  meat,  and  devoted  himself  entirely  to  religious 
exercises.  In  a  fortnight  he  was  well,  and  was  known 
ever  afterwards  as  a  most  exemplary  priest." 

Snatches  of  verse  are  to  be  found  scattered  about  the 
pages  of  these  stories,  enough  to  give  a  taste  of  the 
writer's  quality  without  too  much  boring  the  reader. 
These  lines  are  much  admired : — 

"  With  wine  and  flowers  we  chase  the  hours 

In  one  eternal  spring  • 
No  moon,  no  light,  to  cheer  the  night — 
Thyself  that  ray  must  bring? 

But  we  have  seen  perhaps  enough  of  P'u  Sung-ling. 
"If,"  as  Han  Yii  exclaimed,  "there  is  knowledge  after 
death,"  the  profound  and  widespread  esteem  in  which 
this  work  is  held  by  the  literati  of  China  must  indeed 
prove  a  soothing  balm  to  the  wounded  spirit  of  the  Last 
of  the  Immortals. 

The  Hung  Lou  Meng,  conveniently  but  erroneously 
known  as  "The  Dream  of  the  Red  Chamber,"  is  the 
work  referred  to  already  as  touching  the  highest  point 
of  development  reached  by  the  Chinese  novel.  It  was 
probably  composed  during  the  latter  half  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.  The  name  of  its  author  is  unknown. 
It  is  usually  published  in  24  vols.  octavo,  containing 
j  20  chapters,  which  -'.verage  at  the  least  30  pages  each, 
making  a  grand  total  of  about  4000  pages.  No  fewer 
than  400  personages  of  more  or  less  importance  are  in- 
troduced first  and  last  into  the  story,  the  plot  of  which 
is  worked  out  with  a  completeness  worthy  of  Fielding, 


356  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

while  the  delineation  of  character — of  so  many  characters 
— recalls  the  best  efforts  of  the  greatest  novelists  of  the 
West.  As  a  panorama  of  Chinese  social  life,  in  which 
almost  every  imaginable  feature  is  submitted  in  turn  to 
the  reader,  the  Hung  Lou  Meng  is  altogether  without  a 
rival.  Reduced  to  its  simplest  terms,  it  is  an  original  and 
effective  love  story,  written  for  the  most  part  in  an  easy, 
almost  colloquial,  style,  full  of  humorous  and  pathetic 
episodes  of  everyday  human  life,  and  interspersed  with 
short  poems  of  high  literary  finish.  The  opening 
chapters,  which  are  intended  to  form  a  link  between  the 
world  of  spirits  and  the  world  of  mortals,  belong  to  the 
supernatural ;  after  that  the  story  runs  smoothly  along 
upon  earthly  lines,  always,  however,  overshadowed  by 
the  near  presence  of  spiritual  influences.  Some  idea  of 
the  novel  as  a  whole  may  perhaps  be  gathered  from  the 
following  abstract. 

Four  thousand  six  hundred  and  twenty-three  years 
ago  the  heavens  were  out  of  repair.  So  the  Goddess  of 
Works  set  to  and  prepared  36,501  blocks  of  precious 
jade,  each  240  feet  square  by  120  feet  in  depth.  Of 
these,  however,  she  only  used  36,500,  and  cast  aside  the 
single  remaining  block  upon  one  of  the  celestial  peaks. 

This  stone,  under  the  process  of  preparation,  had 
become  as  it  were  spiritualised.  It  could  expand  or 
contract.  It  could  move.  It  was  conscious  of  the 
existence  of  an  external  world,  and  it  was  hurt  at 
not  having  been  called  upon  to  accomplish  its  divine 
mission. 

One  day  a  Buddhist  and  a  Taoist  priest,  who  happened 
to  be  passing  that  way,  sat  down  for  a  while  to  rest,  and 
forthwith  noticed  the  disconsolate  stone  which  lay  there, 
no  bigger  than  the  pendant  of  a  iady's  fan.  "  Indeed, 


THE  HUNG  LOU  MfiNG  357 

my  friend,  you  are  not  wanting  in  spirituality,"  said  the 
Buddhist  priest  to  the  stone,  as  he  picked  it  up  and 
laughingly  held  it  forth  upon  the  palm  of  his  hand. 
"  But  we  cannot  be  certain  that  you  will  ever  prove  to 
be  of  any  real  use  ;  and,  moreover,  you  lack  an  inscrip- 
tion, without  which  your  destiny  must  necessarily  remain 
unfulfilled."  Thereupon  he  put  the  stone  in  his  sleeve 
and  rose  to  proceed  on  his  journey. 

"And  what,  if  I  may  ask,"  inquired  his  companion, 
"do  you  intend  to  do  with  the  stone  you  are  thus 
carrying  away  ?" 

"  I  mean,"  replied  the  other,  "  to  send  it  down  tq 
earth,  to  play  its  allotted  part  in  the  fortunes  of  a  certain 
family  now  anxiously  expecting  its  arrival.  You  see, 
when  the  Goddess  of  Works  rejected  this  stone,  it  used 
to  fill  up  its  time  by  roaming  about  the  heavens,  until 
chance  brought  it  alongside  of  a  lovely  crimson  flower. 
Being  struck  with  the  great  beauty  of  this  flower,  the 
stone  remained  there  for  some  time,  tending  its  protegee 
with  the  most  loving  care,  and  daily  moistening  its  roots 
with  the  choicest  nectar  of  the  sky,  until  at  length, 
yielding  to  the  influence  of  disinterested  love,  the  flower 
changed  its  form  and  became  a  most  beautiful  girl. 

"  '  Dear  stone,'  cried  the  girl,  in  her  new-found  ecstasy 
of  life,  'the  moisture  thou  hast  bestowed  upon  me  here 
I  will  repay  thee  in  our  future  state  with  my  tears  ! ' " 

Ages  afterwards,  another  priest,  in  search  of  light, 
saw  this  self-same  stone  lying  in  its  old  place,  but  with  a 
record  inscribed  upon  it — a  record  of  how  it  had  not 
been  used  to  repair  the  heavens,  and  how  it  subsequently 
vent  down  into  the  world  of  mortals,  with  a  full  descrip- 
tion of  all  it  did,  and  saw,  and  heard  while  in  that  state. 

"  Brother  Stone,"  said  the  priest,  "your  record  is  not 


358  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

one  that  deals  with  the  deeds  of  heroes  among  men.  It 
does  not  stir  us  with  stories  either  of  virtuous  states- 
men or  of  deathless  patriots.  It  seems  to  be  but  a 
simple  tale  of  the  loves  of  maidens  and  youths,  hardly 
important  enough  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  great 
busy  world." 

"  Sir  Priest,"  replied  the  stone,  "  what  you  say  is  in- 
deed true  ;  and  what  is  more,  my  poor  story  is  adorned 
by  no  rhetorical  flourish  nor  literary  art.  Still,  the 
world  of  mortals  being  what  it  is,  and  its  complexion  so 
far  determined  by  the  play  of  human  passion,  I  cannot 
but  think  that  the  tale  here  inscribed  may  be  of  some 
use,  if  only  to  throw  a  further  charm  around  the  banquet 
hour,  or  to  aid  in  dispelling  those  morning  clouds  which 
gather  over  last  night's  excess." 

Thereupon  the  priest  looked  once  more  at  the  stone, 
and  saw  that  it  bore  a  plain  unvarnished  tale  of — 

"  Beauty  and  anguish  walking  hand  in  hand 
The  downward  slope  to  death" 

telling  how  a  woman's  artless  love  had  developed  into 
deep,  destroying  passion  ;  and  how  from  the  thraM  of  a 
lost  love  one  soul  had  been  raised  to  a  sublimer,  if  not 
a  purer  conception  of  man's  mission  upon  earth.  He 
therefore  copied  it  out  from  beginning  to  end.  Here- 
it  is : — 

Under  a  dynasty  which  the  author  leaves  unnamed, 
two  brothers  had  greatly  distinguished  themselves  by 
efficient  service  to  the  State.  In  return,  they  had  been 
loaded  with  marks  of  Imperial  favour.  They  had  been 
created  nobles  of  the  highest  rank.  They  had  amassed 
wealth.  The  palaces  assigned  to  them  were  near  to- 
gether in  Peking,  and  there  their  immediate  descendants 


THE  HUNG  LOU  M&NG  359 

were  enjoying  the  fruits  of  ancestral  success  when  this 
story  opens.  The  brothers  had  each  a  son  and  heir ; 
but  at  the  date  at  which  we  are  now,  fathers  and  sons 
had  all  four  passed  away.  The  wife  of  one  of  the  sons 
only  was  still  alive,  a  hale  and  hearty  old  lady  of  about 
eighty  years  of  age.  Of  her  children,  one  was  a  daughter. 
She  had  married  and  gone  away  south,  and  her  daughter, 
Tai-yii,  is  the  heroine  of  this  tale.  The  son  of  the 
old  lady's  second  son  and  first  cousin  to  Tai-yu  is 
the  hero,  living  with  his  grandmother.  His  name  is 
Pao-yii. 

The  two  noble  families  were  now  at  the  very  zenith 
of  wealth  and  power.  Their  palatial  establishments 
were  replete  with  every  luxury.  Feasting  and  theatricals 
were  the  order  of  the  day,  and,  to  crown  all,  Pao-yii's 
sister  had  been  chosen  to  be  one  of  the  seventy-two  wives 
allotted  to  the  Emperor  of  China.  No  one  stopped  to 
think  that  human  events  are  governed  by  an  inevitable 
law  of  change.  He  who  is  mighty  to-day  shall  be  lowly  to- 
morrow :  the  rich  shall  be  made  poor,  and  the  poor  rich. 
Or  if  any  one,  more  thoughtful  than  the  rest,  did  pause 
awhile  in  knowledge  of  the  appointments  of  Heaven,  he 
was  fain  to  hope  that  the  crash  would  not  come,  at  any 
rate,  in  his  own  day. 

Things  were  in  this  state  when  Tai-yii's  mother  died, 
and  her  father  decided  to  place  his  motherless  daughter 
under  the  care  of  her  grandmother  at  Peking.  Accom- 
panied by  her  governess,  the  young  lady  set  out  at  once 
for  the  capital,  and  reached  her  destination  in  safety.  It 
is  not  necessary  to  dwell  upon  her  beauty  nor  upon  her 
genius,  though  both  are  minutely  described  in  the  original 
text.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  during  the  years  which  have 
elapsed  since  she  first  became  known  to  the  public,  many 


360  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

brave  men  are  said  to  have  died  for  love  of  this  entranc- 
ing heroine  of  fiction. 

Tai-yii  was  received  most  kindly  by  all.  Especially  so 
by  her  grandmother,  who  shed  bitter  tears  of  sorrow  over 
the  premature  death  of  Tai-yii's  mother,  her  lost  and 
favourite  child.  She  was  introduced  to  her  aunts  and 
cousins,  and  cousins  and  aunts,  in  such  numbers  that 
the  poor  girl  must  have  wondered  how  ever  she  should 
remember  all  their  names.  Then  they  sat  down  and 
talked.  They  asked  her  all  about  her  mother,  and  how 
she  fell  ill,  and  what  medicine  she  took,  and  how  she 
died  and  was  buried,  until  the  old  grandmother  wept 
again.  "  And  what  medicine  do  you  take,  my  dear  ?  " 
asked  the  old  lady,  seeing  that  Tai-yii  herself  seemed 
very  delicate,  and  carried  on  her  clear  cheek  a  suspicious- 
looking  flush. 

"Oh,  I  have  done  nothing  ever  since  I  could  eat," 
replied  Tai-yii,  "but  take  medicine  of  some  kind  or 
other.  I  have  also  seen  all  the  best  doctors,  but  they 
have  not  done  me  any  particular  good.  When  I  was 
only  three  years  of  age,  a  nasty  old  priest  came  and 
wanted  my  parents  to  let  me  be  a  nun.  He  said  it  was 
the  only  way  to  save  me." 

"  Oh,  we  will  soon  cure  you  here,"  said  her  grand- 
mother, smiling.  "  We  will  make  you  well  in  no  time." 

Tai-yii  was  then  taken  to  see  more  of  her  relatives, 
including  her  aunt,  the  mother  of  Pao-yii,  who  warned 
her  against  his  peculiar  temper,  which  she  said  was  very 
uncertain  and  variable.  "What!  the  one  with  the 
jade  ?  "  asked  Tai-yii.  "  But  we  shall  not  be  together," 
she  immediately  added,  somewhat  surprised  at  this 
rather  unusual  warning.  "  Oh  yes,  you  will,"  said  her 
aunt.  "  He  is  dreadfully  spoilt  by  his  grandmother,  who 


THE  HUNG  LOU  M&NG  361 

allows  him  to  have  his  own  way  in  everything.  Instead 
of  being  hard  at  work,  as  he  ought  to  be  by  now,  he 
idles  away  his  time  with  the  girls,  thinking  only  how  he 
can  enjoy  himself,  without  any  idea  of  making  a  career 
or  adding  fresh  lustre  to  the  family  name.  Beware  of 
him,  I  tell  you." 

The  dinner-hour  had  now  arrived,  and  after  the  meal 
Tai-yii  was  questioned  as  to  the  progress  she  had  made 
in  her  studies.  She  was  already  deep  in  the  mysteries 
of  the  Four  Books,  and  it  was  agreed  on  all  sides  that 
she  was  far  ahead  of  her  cousins,  when  suddenly  a 
noise  was  heard  outside,  and  in  came  a  most  elegantly 
dressed  youth  about  a  year  older  than  Tai-yii,  wearing  a 
cap  lavishly  adorned  with  pearls.  His  face  was  like 
the  full  autumn  moon.  His  complexion  like  morning 
flowers  in  spring.  Pencilled  eyebrows,  a  well  -  cut 
shapely  nose,  and  eyes  like  rippling  .vaves  were  among 
the  details  which  went  to  make  up  an  unquestionably 
handsome  exterior.  Around  his  neck  hung  a  curious 
piece  of  jade ;  and  as  soon  as  Tai-yii  became  fully 
conscious  of  his  presence,  a  thrill  passed  through  her 
delicate  frame.  She  felt  that  somewhere  or  other  she 
had  looked  upon  that  face  before. 

Pao-yii — for  it  was  he — saluted  his  grandmother  with 
great  respect,  and  then  went  off  to  see  his  mother  ;  and 
while  he  is  absent  it  may  be  as  well  to  say  a  few  words 
about  the  young  gentleman's  early  days. 

Pao-yii,  a  name  which  means  Precious  Jade,  was  so 
called  because  he  was  born,  to  the  great  astonishment  of 
everybody,  with  a  small  tablet  of  jade  in  his  mouth — a 
beautifully  bright  mirror-like  tablet,  bearing  a  legend 
inscribed  in  the  quaint  old  style  of  several  thousand 
years  ago.  A  family  consultation  resulted  in  a  decision 


362  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

that  this  stone  was  some  divine  talisman,  the  purpose  of 
which  was  not  for  the  moment  clear,  but  was  doubtless 
to  be  revealed  by  and  by.  One  thing  was  certain.  As 
this  tablet  had  come  into  the  world  with  the  child,  so  it 
should  accompany  him  through  life  ;  and  accordingly 
Pao-yii  was  accustomed  to  wear  it  suspended  around  his 
neck.  The  news  of  this  singular  phenomenon  spread  far 
and  wide.  Even  Tai-yii  had  heard  of  it  long  before  she 
came  to  take  up  her  abode  with  the  family. 

And  so  Pao-yii  grew  up,  a  wilful,  wayward  boy.  He 
was  a  bright,  clever  fellow  and  full  of  fun,  but  very 
averse  to  books.  He  declared,  in  fact,  that  he  could  not 
read  at  all  unless  he  had  as  fellow-students  a  young  lady 
on  each  side  of  him,  to  keep  his  brain  clear  !  And 
when  his  father  beat  him,  as  was  frequently  the  case,  he 
would  cry  out,  "  Dear  girl  !  dear  girl ! "  all  the  time,  in 
order,  as  he  afterwards  explained  to  his  cousins,  to  take 
away  the  pain.  Women,  he  argued,  are  made  of  water, 
with  pellucid  mobile  minds,  while  men  are  mostly  made 
of  mud,  mere  lumps  of  uninformed  clay. 

By  this  time  he  had  returned  from  seeing  his  mother 
and  was  formally  introduced  to  Tai-yti.  "  Ha  ! "  cried 
he,  "  I  have  seen  her  before  somewhere.  What  makes 
her  eyes  so  red  ?  Indeed,  cousin  Tai-yii,  we  shall  have 
to  call  you  Cry-baby  if  you  cry  so  much."  Here  some 
reference  was  made  to  his  jade  tablet,  and  this  put  him 
into  an  angry  mood  at  once.  None  of  his  cousins  had 
any,  he  said,  and  he  was  not  going  to  wear  his  any  more. 
A  family  scene  ensued,  during  which  Tai-yii  went  off  to 
bed  and  cried  herself  to  sleep. 

Shortly  after  this,  Pao-yii's  mother's  sister  was  com- 
pelled by  circumstances  to  seek  a  residence  in  the 
capital.  She  brought  with  her  a  daughter,  Pao-ohai, 


THE  HUNG  LOU  M&NG  363 

another  cousin  to  Pao-yii,  but  about  a  year  older  than 
he  was ;  and  besides  receiving  a  warm  welcome,  the 
two  were  invited  to  settle  themselves  comfortably  down 
in  the  capacious  family  mansion  of  their  relatives.  Thus 
it  was  that  destiny  brought  Pao-yii  and  his  two  cousins 
together  under  the  same  roof. 

The  three  soon  became  fast  friends.  Pao-ch'ai  had 
been  carefully  educated  by  her  father,  and  was  able  to 
hold  her  own  even  against  the  accomplished  Tai-yii. 
Pao-yii  loved  the  society  of  either  or  both.  He  was 
always  happy  so  long  as  he  had  a  pretty  girl  by  his  side, 
and  was,  moreover,  fascinated  by  the  wit  of  these  two 
young  ladies  in  particular. 

He  had,  however,  occasional  fits  of  moody  depression, 
varied  by  discontent  with  his  superfluous  worldly  sur- 
roundings. "  In  what  am  I  better,"  he  would  say,  "  than 
a  wallowing  hog  ?  Why  was  I  born  and  bred  amid  this 
splendid  magnificence  of  wealth,  instead  of  in  some 
coldly  furnished  household  where  I  could  have  enjoyed 
the  pure  communion  of  friends  ?  These  silks  and  satins, 
these  rich  meats  and  choice  wines,  of  what  avail  are 
they  to  this  perishable  body  of  mine  ?  O  wealth  !  O 
power  !  I  curse  you  both,  ye  cankerworms  of  my 
earthly  career." 

All  these  morbid  thoughts,  however,  were  speedily 
dispelled  by  the  presence  of  his  fair  cousins,  with  whom, 
in  fact,  Pao-yii  spent  most  of  the  time  he  ought  to  have 
devoted  to  his  books.  He  was  always  running  across  to 
see  either  one  or  other  of  these  young  ladies,  or  meeting 
both  of  them  in  general  assembly  at  his  grandmother's. 
It  was  at  a  tete-a-tete  with  Pao-ch'ai  that  she  made  him 
show  her  his  marvellous  piece  of  jade,  with  the  inscription, 
which  she  read  as  follows  : — 


364  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

"  Lose  me  not,  forget  me  not, 
Eternal  life  shall  be  thy  lot." 

The  indiscretion  of  a  slave-girl  here  let  Pao-yii  become 
aware  that  Pao-ch'ai  herself  possessed  a  wonderful  gold 
amulet,  upon  which  also  were  certain  words  inscribed  ; 
and  of  course  Pao-yii  insisted  on  seeing  it  at  once.  On 
it  was  written — 

"  Let  not  this  token  wander  from  thy  side, 
And  youth  perennial  shall  with  thee  abide" 

In  the  middle  of  this  interesting  scene,  Tai-yti  walks 
in,  and  seeing  how  intimately  the  two  are  engaged, 
"hopes  she  doesn't  intrude."  But  even  in  those  early 
days  the  ring  of  her  voice  betrayed  symptoms  of  that 
jealousy  to  which  later  on  she  succumbed.  Meanwhile 
she  almost  monopolises  the  society  of  Pao-yii,  and  he, 
on  his  side,  finds  himself  daily  more  and  more  attracted 
by  the  sprightly  mischievous  humour  of  the  beautiful 
Tai-yii,  as  compared  with  the  quieter  and  more  orthodox 
loveliness  of  Pao-ch'ai.  Pao-ch'ai  does  not  know  what 
jealousy  means.  She  too  loves  to  bandy  words,  ex- 
change verses,  or  puzzle  over  conundrums  with  her 
mercurial  cousin  ;  but  she  never  allows  her  thoughts  to 
wander  towards  him  otherwise  than  is  consistent  with 
the  strictest  maidenly  reserve. 

Not  so  Tai-yii.  She  had  been  already  for  some  time 
Pao-yii's  chief  companion  when  they  were  joined  by 
Pao-ch'ai.  She  had  come  to  regard  the  handsome  boy 
almost  as  a  part  of  herself,  though  not  conscious  of  the 
fact  until  called  upon  to  share  his  society  with  another. 
And  so  it  was  that  although  Pao-yii  showed  an  open 
preference  for  herself,  she  still  grudged  the  lesser  atten- 
tions he  paid  to  Pao-ch'ai.  As  often  as  not  these  same 


THE  HUNG  LOU  M&NG  365 

attentions  originated  in  an  irresistible  impulse  to  tease. 
Pao-yii  and  Tai-yii  were  already  lovers  in  so  far  that 
they  were  always  quarrelling  ;  the  more  so,  that  their 
quarrels  invariably  ended,  as  they  should  end,  in  the 
renewal  of  love.  As  a  rule,  Tai-yii  fell  back  upon  the 
ultima  ratio  of  all  women — tears  ;  and  of  course  Pao-yii, 
who  was  not  by  any  means  wanting  in  chivalry,  had  no 
alternative  but  to  wipe  them  away.  On  one  particular 
occasion,  Tai-yii  declared  that  she  would  die ;  upon 
which  Pao-yii  said  that  in  that  case  he  would  become  a 
monk  and  devote  his  life  to  Buddha  ;  but  in  this  instance 
it  was  he  who  shed  the  tears  and  she  who  had  to  wipe 
them  away. 

All  this  time  Tai-yii  and  Pao-ch'ai  were  on  terms  of 
scrupulous  courtesy.  Tai-yii's  father  had  recently  died, 
and  her  fortunes  now  seemed  to  be  bound  up  more 
closely  than  ever  with  those  of  the  family  in  which  she 
lived.  She  had  a  handsome  gold  ornament  given  her  to 
match  Pao-ch'ai's  amulet,  and  the  three  young  people 
spent  their  days  together,  thinking  only  how  to  get  most 
enjoyment  out  of  every  passing  hour.  Sometimes,  how- 
ever, a  shade  of  serious  thought  would  darken  Tai-yii's 
moments  of  enforced  solitude ;  and  one  day  Pao-yii 
surprised  her  in  a  secluded  part  of  the  garden,  engaged 
in  burying  flowers  which  had  been  blown  down  by  the 
wind,  while  singing  the  following  lines  : — 

"  Flowers  fade  and  fly, 

and  flying  fill  the  sky  ; 
Their  bloom  departs,  their  perfume  gone, 

yet  who  stands  pitying  by  ? 
And  wandering  threads  of  gossamer 

on  the  summer-house  are  seen, 
And  falling  catkins  lightly  dew-steeped 

strike  the  embroidered  screen. 


366  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

A  girl  -within  the  inner  rooms, 

I  mourn  that  spring  is  done, 
A  skein  of  sorrow  binds  my  heart, 

and  solace  there  is  none. 
I  pass  into  the  garden, 

and  I  turn  to  use  my  hoe, 
Treading  Jer  fallen  glories 

as  I  lightly  come  and  go. 
There  are  willow-sprays  and  flowers  of  elm. 

and  these  have  scent  enow, 
I  care  not  if  the  peach  and  plum 

are  stripped  from  every  bough. 
The  peach-tree  and  the  plum-tree  too 

next  year  may  bloom  again, 
But  next  year,  in  the  inner  rooms, 

tell  me,  shall  I  remain  ? 
By  the  third  moon  new  fragrant  nests 

shall  see  the  light  of  day, 
New  swallows  flit  among  the  beams, 

each  on  its  thoughtless  way. 
Next  year  once  more  they'll  seek  their  food 

among  the  painted  flowers, 
But  I  may  go,  and  beams  may  go, 

and  with  them  swallow  bowers. 
Three  hundred  days  and  sixty  make 

a  year,  and  therein  lurk 
Daggers  of  wind  and  swords  of  frost 

to  do  their  cruel  work. 
How  long  will  last  the  fair  fresh  flower 

which  bright  and  brighter  glows  f 
One  morn  its  petals  float  away, 

but  whither  no  one  knows. 
Cay  blooming  buds  attract  the  eye, 

faded  they're  lost  to  sight  j 
Oh,  let  me  sadly  bury  them 

beside  these  steps  to-night ! 
Alone,  unseen,  I  seize  my  hoe, 

with  many  a  bitter  tearj 
They  fall  upon  the  naked  stem 

and  stains  of  blood  appear. 


THE  HUNG  LOU  M&NG  367 

The  night-jar  now  has  ceased  to  mourn, 

the  dawn  comes  on  apace, 
I  seize  my  hoe  and  close  the  gates, 

leaving  the  burying-p  lace  ; 
But  not  till  sunbeams  fleck  the  wall 

does  slumber  soothe  my  care^ 
The  cold  rain  pattering  on  the  pane 

as  I  lie  shivering  there. 
You  wonder  that  with  flowing  tears 

my  youthful  cheek  is  wet; 
They  partly  rise  from  angry  thoughts^ 

and  partly  from  regret. 
Regret — that  spring  comes  suddenly; 

anger — //  cannot  last. 
No  sound  to  herald  its  approach, 

or  warn  us  that  'tis  past. 
Last  slight  within  the  garden 

sad  songs  were  faintly  heard, 
Sung,  as  I  knew,  by  spirits, 

spirits  of  flower  and  bird. 
We  cannot  keep  them  here  with  us, 

these  much-loved  birds  andflowersy 
They  sing  but  for  a  seasons  space, 

and  bloom  a  few  short  hours. 
Ah!  would  that  I  on  feathered  wing 

might  soar  aloft  and  fly, 
With  flower  spirits  I  would  seek 

the  confines  of  the  sky. 
But  high  in  air 
What  grave  is  there  ? l 
No,  give  me  an  embroidered  bag 

wherein  to  lay  their  charms, 
And  Mother  Earth,  pure  Mother  Earth, 

shall  hide  them  in  her  arms. 
Thus  those  sweet  forms  which  spotless  came 

shall  spotless  go  again, 
Nor  pass  besmirched  with  mud  and  filth 

along  some  noisome  drain. 


These  two  lines  are  short  in  the  original. 


368  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

Farewell,  dear  flowers,  for  ever  now^ 

thus  buried  as  'twas  best, 
I  have  not  yet  divined  when  I 

with  you  shall  sink  to  rest. 
I  who  can  bury  flowers  like  this 

a  laughing-stock  shall  bej 
I  cannot  say  in  days  to  come 

what  hands  shall  bury  me. 
See  how  when  spring  begins  to  fail 

each  opening  floweret  fades; 
So  too  there  is  a  time  of  age 

and  death  for  beauteous  maids  ; 
And  when  the  fleeting  spring  is  gone, 

and  days  of  beauty  der, 
Flowers  fall,  and  lovely  maidens  die, 

and  both  are  known  no  more" 

Meanwhile,  Pao-yii's  father  had  received  an  appoint- 
ment which  took  him  away  to  a  distance,  the  consequence 
being  that  life  went  on  at  home  in  a  giddier  round  than 
usual.  Nothing  the  old  grandmother  liked  better  than  a 
picnic  or  a  banquet — feasting,  in  fact,  of  some  kind,  with 
plenty  of  wine  and  mirth.  But  now,  somehow  or  other, 
little  things  were  always  going  wrong.  In  every  pot  of 
ointment  the  traditional  fly  was  sure  to  make  its  appear- 
ance ;  in  every  sparkling  goblet  a  bitter  something  would 
always  bubble  up.  Money  was  not  so  plentiful  as  it  had 
been,  and  there  seemed  to  be  always  occurring  some  un- 
foreseen drain  upon  the  family  resources.  Various  mem- 
bers of  one  or  other  of  the  two  grand  establishments  get 
into  serious  trouble  with  the  authorities.  Murder,  suicide, 
and  robbery  happen  upon  the  premises.  The  climax  of 
prosperity  had  been  reached  and  the  hour  of  decadence 
had  arrived.  Still  all  went  merry  as  a  marriage-bell, 
and  Pao-yii  and  Tai-yii  continued  the  agreeable  pastime 
of  love-making.  In  this  they  were  further  favoured  by 
circumstances.  Pao-ch'ai's  mother  gave  up  the  apart- 


THE  HUNG  LOU  M&NG  369 

ments  which  had  been  assigned  to  her,  and  went  to  live 
in  lodgings  in  the  city,  of  course  taking  Pao-ch'ai  with 
her.  Some  time  previous  to  this,  a  slave-girl  had  casually 
remarked  to  Pao-yii  that  her  young  mistress,  Tai-yii,  was 
about  to  leave  and  go  back  again  to  the  south.  Pao-yii 
fainted  on  the  spot,  and  was  straightway  carried  off  and 
put  to  bed.  He  bore  the  departure  of  Pao-ch'ai  with 
composure.  He  could  not  even  hear  of  separation  from 
his  beloved  Tai-yii. 

And  she  was  already  deeply  in  love  with  him.  Long, 
long  ago  her  faithful  slave-girl  had  whispered  into  her 
ear  the  soft  possibility  of  union  with  her  cousin.  Day 
and  night  she  thought  about  Pao-yii,  and  bitterly  re- 
gretted that  she  had  now  neither  father  nor  mother  on 
whom  she  could  rely  to  effect  the  object  that  lay  nearest 
to  her  heart.  One  evening,  tired  out  under  the  ravages 
of  the  great  passion,  she  flung  herself  down,  without 
undressing,  upon  a  couch  to  sleep.  But  she  had  hardly 
closed  her  eyes  ere  her  grandmother  and  a  whole  bevy 
of  aunts  and  cousins  walked  in  to  offer,  as  they  said, 
their  hearty  congratulations.  Tai-yii  was  astonished, 
and  asked  what  on  earth  their  congratulations  meant ; 
upon  which  it  was  explained  to  her  that  her  father  had 
married  again,  and  that  her  stepmother  had  arranged 
for  her  a  most  eligible  match,  in  consequence  of  which 
she  was  to  leave  for  home  immediately.  With  floods 
of  tears  Tai-yii  entreated  her  grandmother  not  to 
send  her  away.  She  did  not  want  to  marry,  and  she 
would  rather  become  a  slave-girl  at  her  grandmother's 
feet  than  fall  in  with  the  scheme  proposed.  She  ex- 
hausted every  argument,  and  even  invoked  the  spirit 
of  her  dead  mother  to  plead  her  cause  ;  but  the  old 
lady  was  obdurate,  and  finally  went  away,  saying  that 


3/0  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

the  arrangement  would  have  to  be  carried  out.  Then 
Tai-yii  saw  no  escape  but  the  one  last  resource  of  all ; 
when  at  that  moment  Pao-yii  entered,  and  with  a  smile 
on  his  face  began  to  offer  her  his  congratulations  too. 

"Thank  you,  cousin,"  cried  she,  starting  up  and 
seizing  him  rudely  by  the  arm.  "  Now  I  know  you  for 
the  false,  fickle  creature  you  are  ! " 

"  What  is  the  matter,  dear  girl  ? "  inquired  Pao-yii 
in  amazement.  "  I  was  only  glad  for  your  sake  that  you 
had  found  a  lover  at  last." 

"And  what  lover  do  you  think  I  could  ever  care  to 
find  now  ?  "  rejoined  Tai-yii. 

"  Well,"  replied  Pao-yii,  "  I  should  of  course  wish  it  to 
be  myself.  I  consider  you  indeed  mine  already ;  and 
if  you  think  of  the  way  I  have  always  behaved  towards 
you  .  .  ." 

"  What ! "  said  Tai-yii,  partly  misunderstanding  his 
words,  "  can  it  be  you  after  all  ?  and  do  you  really  wish 
me  to  remain  with  you  ?  " 

"  You  shall  see  with  your  own  eyes,"  answered  Pao-yii, 
"  even  into  the  inmost  recesses  of  my  heart,  and  then 
perhaps  you  will  believe." 

Thereupon  he  drew  a  knife,  and  plunging  it  into  his 
body,  ripped  himself  open  so  as  to  expose  his  heart  to 
view.  With  a  shriek  Tai-yii  tried  to  stay  his  hand,  and 
felt  herself  drenched  wrth  the  flow  of  fresh  warm  blood  ; 
when  suddenly  Pao-yii  uttered  a  loud  groan,  and  crying 
out,  "  Great  heaven,  my  heart  is  gone  ! "  fell  senseless 
to  the  ground.  "  Help  !  help  ! "  screamed  Tai-yii ;  "  he 
is  dying  !  he  is  dying  ! "  "  Wake  up  !  wake  up  !"  said 
Tai-yii's  maid  ;  "  whatever  has  given  you  nightmare  like 
this?" 

So  Tai-yii  waked  up  and  found  that  she  had  had  a 


THE  HUNG  LOU  M&NG  371 

bad  dream.  But  she  had  something  worse  than  that. 
She  had  a  bad  illness  to  follow ;  and  strange  to  say, 
Pao-yii  was  laid  up  at  the  same  time.  The  doctor  came 
and  felt  her  pulse — both  pulses,  in  fact — and  shook  his 
head,  and  drank  a  cup  of  tea,  and  said  that  Tai-yii's  vital 
principle  wanted  nourishment,  which  it  would  get  out 
of  a  prescription  he  then  and  there  wrote  down.  As  to 
Pao-yii,  he  was  simply  suffering  from  a  fit  of  temporary 
indigestion. 

So  Tai-yii  got  better,  and  Pao-yii  recovered  his  spirits. 
His  father  had  returned  home,  and  he  was  once  more 
obliged  to  make  some  show  of  work,  and  consequently 
had  fewer  hours  to  spend  in  the  society  of  his  cousin. 
He  was  now  a  young  man,  and  the  question  of  his 
marriage  began  to  occupy  a  foremost  place  in  the  minds 
of  his  parents  and  grandmother.  Several  names  were 
proposed,  one  especially  by  his  father ;  but  it  was  finally 
agreed  that  it  was  unnecessary  to  go  far  afield  to  secure 
a  fitting  bride.  It  was  merely  a  choice  between  the  two 
charming  young  ladies  who  had  already  shared  so  much 
in  his  daily  life.  But  the  difficulty  lay  precisely  there. 
Where  each  was  perfection  it  became  invidious  to  choose. 
In  another  famous  Chinese  novel,  already  described,  a 
similar  difficulty  is  got  over  in  this  way — the  hero  marries 
both.  Here,  however,  the  family  elders  were  distracted 
by  rival  claims.  By  their  gentle,  winning  manners, 
Pao-ch'ai  and  Tai-yii  had  made  themselves  equally  be- 
loved by  all  the  inmates  of  these  two  noble  houses, 
from  the  venerable  grandmother  down  to  the  meanest 
slave-girl.  Their  beauty  was  of  different  styles,  but  at 
the  bar  of  man's  opinion  each  would  probably  have 
gained  an  equal  number  of  votes.  Tai-yii  was  un- 
doubtedly the  cleverer  of  the  two,  but  Pao-ch'ai  had 


372  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

better  health  ;  and  in  the  judgment  of  those  with  whom 
the  decision  rested,  health  carried  the  day.  It  was 
arranged  that  Pao-yii  was  to  marry  Pao-ch'ai. 

This  momentous  arrangement  was  naturally  made  in 
secret.  Various  preliminaries  would  have  to  be  gone 
through  before  a  verbal  promise  could  give  place  to 
formal  betrothal.  And  it  is  a  well-ascertained  fact  that 
secrets  can  only  be  kept  by  men,  while  this  one  was 
confided  to  at  least  a  dozen  women.  Consequently, 
one  night  when  Tai-yii  was  ill  and  alone  in  her  room, 
yearning  for  the  love  that  had  already  been  contracted 
away  to  another,  she  heard  two  slave-girls  outside 
whispering  confidences,  and  fancied  she  caught  Pao- 
yii's  name.  She  listened  again,  and  this  time  without 
doubt,  for  she  heard  them  say  that  Pao-yii  was  engaged 
to  marry  a  lady  of  good  family  and  many  accomplish- 
ments. Just  then  a  parrot  called  out,  "  Here's  your 
mistress  :  pour  out  the  tea  !  "  which  frightened  the  slave- 
girls  horribly ;  and  they  forthwith  separated,  one  of 
them  running  inside  to  attend  upon  Tai-yii  herself. 
She  finds  her  young  mistress  in  a  very  agitated  state, 
but  Tai-yii  is  always  ailing  now. 

This  time  she  was  seriously  ill.  She  ate  nothing. 
She  was  racked  by  a  dreadful  cough.  Even  a  Chinese 
doctor  could  now  hardly  fail  to  see  that  she  was  far 
advanced  in  a  decline.  But  none  knew  that  the  sick- 
ness of  her  body  had  originated  in  sickness  of  the  heart. 

One  night  she  grew  rapidly  worse  and  worse,  and  lay 
to  all  appearances  dying.  A  slave-girl  ran  to  summon 
her  grandmother,  while  several  others  remained  in  the 
room  talking  about  Pao-yii  and  his  intended  marriage. 
"  It  was  all  off,"  said  one  of  them.  "  His  grandmother 
would  not  agree  to  the  young  lady  chosen  by  his  father. 


THE  HUNG  LOU  M&NG  373 

She  had  already  made  her  own  choice — of  another 
young  lady  who  lives  in  the  family,  and  of  whom  we 
are  all  very  fond."  The  dying  girl  heard  these  words, 
and  it  then  flashed  across  her  that  after  all  she  must 
herself  be  the  bride  intended  for  Pao-yu.  "For  if  not 
I,"  argued  she,  "who  can  it  possibly  be?"  Thereupon 
she  rallied  as  it  were  by  a  supreme  effort  of  will,  and,  to 
the  great  astonishment  of  all,  called  for  a  drink  of  tea. 
Those  who  had  come  expecting  to  see  her  die  were  now 
glad  to  think  that  her  youth  might  ultimately  prevail. 

So  Tai-yii  got  better  once  more  ;  but  only  better,  not 
well.  For  the  sickness  of  the  soul  is  not  to  be  cured 
by  drugs.  Meanwhile,  an  event  occurred  which  for  the 
time  being  threw  everything  else  into  the  shade.  Pao- 
yii  lost  his  jade  tablet.  After  changing  his  clothes,  he 
had  forgotten  to  put  it  on,  and  had  left  it  lying  upon  his 
table.  But  when  he  sent  to  fetch  it,  it  was  gone.  A 
search  was  instituted  high  and  low,  without  success. 
The  precious  talisman  was  missing.  No  one  dared  tell 
his  grandmother  and  face  the  old  lady's  wrath.  As  to 
Pao-yii  himself,  he  treated  the  matter  lightly.  Gradu- 
ally, however,  a  change  came  over  his  demeanour.  He 
was  often  absent-minded.  At  other  times  his  tongue 
would  run  away  with  him,  and  he  talked  nonsense.  At 
length  he  got  so  bad  that  it  became  imperative  to  do 
something.  So  his  grandmother  had  to  be  told.  Of 
course  she  was  dreadfully  upset,  but  she  made  a  move 
in  the  right  direction,  and  offered  an  enormous  reward 
for  its  recovery.  The  result  was  that  within  a  few  days 
the  reward  was  claimed.  But  in  the  interval  the  tablet 
seemed  to  have  lost  much  of  its  striking  brilliancy ;  and 
a  closer  inspection  showed  it  to  be  in  reality  nothing 
more  than  a  clever  imitation.  This  was  a  crushing 


374  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

disappointment  to  all.  Pao-yii's  illness  was  increasing 
day  by  day.  His  father  had  received  another  appoint- 
ment in  the  provinces,  and  it  was  eminently  desirable 
that  Pao-yii's  marriage  should  take  place  previous  to  his 
departure.  The  great  objection  to  hurrying  on  the 
ceremony  was  that  the  family  were  in  mourning. 
Among  other  calamities  which  had  befallen  of  late,  the 
young  lady  in  the  palace  had  died,  and  her  influence  at 
Court  was  gone.  Still,  everything  considered,  it  was 
deemed  advisable  to  solemnise  the  wedding  without 
delay.  Pao-yii's  father,  little  as  he  cared  for  the  charac- 
ter of  his  only  son,  had  been  greatly  shocked  at  the 
change  which  he  now  saw.  A  worn,  haggard  face,  with 
sunken,  lack-lustre  eyes ;  rambling,  inconsequent  talk — 
this  was  the  heir  in  whom  the  family  hopes  were  centred. 
The  old  grandmother,  finding  that  doctors  were  of  little 
avail,  had  even  called  in  a  fortune-teller,  who  said  pretty 
much  what  he  was  wanted  to  say,  viz.,  that  Pao-yii 
should  marry  some  one  with  a  golden  destiny  to  help 
him  on. 

So  the  chief  actors  in  the  tragedy  about  to  be  enacted 
had  to  be  consulted  at  last.  They  began  with  Pao-ch'ai, 
for  various  Yeasons  ;  and  she,  like  a  modest,  well-bred 
maiden,  received  her  mother's  commands  in  submissive 
silence.  Further,  from  that  day  she  ceased  to  mention 
Pao-yii's  name.  With  Pao-yii,  however,  it  was  a  diffe- 
rent thing  altogether.  His  love  for  Tai-yii  was  a  matter 
of  some  notoriety,  especially  with  the  slave-girls,  one  of 
whom  even  went  so  far  as  to  tell  his  mother  that  his 
heart  was  set  upon  marrying  her  whom  the  family  had 
felt  obliged  to  reject.  It  was  therefore  hardly  doubtful 
how  he  would  receive  the  news  of  his  betrothal  to 
Pao-ch'ai ;  and  as  in  his  present  state  of  health  the 


THE  HUNG  LOU  M&NG  375 

consequences  could  not  be  ignored,  it  was  resolved  to 
have  recourse  to  stratagem.  So  the  altar  was  prepared, 
and  naught  remained  but  to  draw  the  bright  death  across 
the  victim's  throat. 

In  the  short  time  which  intervened,  the  news  was 
broken  to  Tai-yii  in  an  exceptionally  cruel  manner. 
She  heard  by  accident  in  conversation  with  a  slave-girl 
in  the  garden  that  Pao-yii  was  to  marry  Pao-ch'ai.  The 
poor  girl  felt  as  if  a  thunderbolt  had  pierced  her  brain. 
Her  whole  frame  quivered  beneath  the  shock.  She 
turned  to  go  back  to  her  room,  but  half  unconsciously 
followed  the  path  that  led  to  Pao-yii's  apartments. 
Hardly  noticing  the  servants  in  attendance,  she  almost 
forced  her  way  in,  and  stood  in  the  presence  of  her 
cousin.  He  was  sitting  down,  and  he  looked  up  and 
laughed  a  foolish  laugh  when  he  saw  her  enter ;  but 
he  did  not  rise,  and  he  did  not  invite  her  to  be  seated. 
Tai-yii  sat  down  without  being  asked,  and  without  a 
word  spoken  on  either  side.  And  the  two  sat  there,  and 
stared  and  leered  at  each  other,  until  they  both  broke 
out  into  wild  delirious  laughter,  the  senseless  crazy 
laughter  of  the  madhouse.  "What  makes  you  ill, 
cousin  ? "  asked  Tai-yii,  when  the  first  burst  of  their 
dreadful  merriment  had  subsided.  "  I  am  in  love  with 
Tai-yii,"  he  replied  ;  and  then  they  both  went  off  into 
louder  screams  of  laughter  than  before. 

At  this  point  the  slave-girls  thought  it  high  time  to 
interfere,  and,  after  much  more  laughing  and  nodding  of 
heads,  Tai-yii  was  persuaded  to  go  away.  She  set  off  to 
run  back  to  her  own  room,  and  sped  along  with  a  newly 
acquired  strength.  But  just  as  she  was  nearing  the  door, 
she  was  seen  to  fall,  and  the  terrified  slave-girl  who  rushed 
to  pick  her  up  found  her  with  her  mouth  full  of  blood. 


376  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

By  this  time  all  formalities  have  been  gone  through 
and  the  wedding  day  is  fixed.  It  is  not  to  be  a  grand 
wedding,  but  of  course  there  must  be  a  trousseau.  Pao- 
ch'ai  sometimes  weeps,  she  scarcely  knows  why ;  but 
preparations  for  the  great  event  of  her  life  leave  her, 
fortunately,  very  little  leisure  for  reflection.  Tai-yii  is 
in  bed,  and,  but  for  a  faithful  slave-girl,  alone.  Nobody 
thinks  much  about  her  at  this  juncture  ;  when  the  wed- 
ding is  over  she  is  to  receive  a  double  share  of  attention. 

One  morning  she  makes  the  slave-girl  bring  her  all  her 
poems  and  various  other  relics  of  the  happy  days  gone 
by.  She  turns  them  over  and  over  between  her  thin  and 
wasted  fingers  until  finally  she  commits  them  all  to  the 
flames.  The  effort  is  too  much  for  her,  and  the  slave- 
girl  in  despair  hurries  across  to  the  grandmother's  for 
assistance.  She  finds  the  whole  place  deserted,  but  a 
moment's  thought  reminds  her  that  the  old  lady  is 
doubtless  with  Pao-yii.  So  thither  she  makes  her  way 
as  fast  as  her  feet  can  carry  her,  only,  however,  to  be  still 
further  amazed  at  finding  the  rooms  shut  up,  and  no  one 
there.  Utterly  confused,  and  not  knowing  what  to  make 
of  these  unlooked-for  circumstances,  she  is  about  to  run 
back  to  Tai-yii's  room,  when  to  her  great  relief  she  espies 
a  fellow-servant  in  the  distance,  who  straightway  informs 
her  that  it  is  Pao-yii's  wedding-day,  and  that  he  had 
moved  into  another  suite  of  apartments.  And  so  it  was. 
Pao-yii  had  joyfully  agreed  to  the  proposition  that  he 
should  marry  his  cousin,  for  he  had  been  skilfully  given 
to  understand  that  the  cousin  in  question  was  Tai-yii. 
And  now  the  much  wished-for  hour  had  arrived.  The 
veiled  bride,  accompanied  by  the  very  slave-girl  who  had 
long  ago  escorted  her  from  the  south,  alighted  from  her 
sedan-chair  at  Pao-yii's  door.  The  wedding  march  was 


THE  HUNG  LOU  M&NG  377 

played,  and  the  young  couple  proceeded  to  the  final 
ceremony  of  worship,  which  made  them  irrevocably 
man  and  wife.  Then,  as  is  customary  upon  such  occa- 
sions, Pao-yii  raised  his  bride's  veil.  For  a  moment  he 
seemed  as  though  suddenly  turned  into  stone,  as  he 
stood  there  speechless  and  motionless,  with  fixed  eyes 
gazing  upon  a  face  he  had  little  expected  to  behold. 
Meanwhile,  Pao-ch'ai  retired  into  an  inner  apartment ; 
and  then,  for  the  first  time,  Pao-yii  found  his  voice. 

"Am  I  dreaming  ?"  cried  he,  looking  round  upon  his 
assembled  relatives  and  friends. 

"  No,  you  are  married,"  replied  several  of  those  nearest 
to  him.  "  Take  care  ;  your  father  is  outside.  He  arranged 
it  all." 

"Who  was  that?"  said  Pao-yu,  with  averted  head, 
pointing  in  the  direction  of  the  door  through  which 
Pao-ch'ai  had  disappeared. 

"  It  was  Pao-ch'ai,  your  wife  ..." 

"  Tai-yii,  you  mean ;  Tai-yii  is  my  wife,"  shrieked  he, 
interrupting  them  ;  "  I  want  Tai-yii  !  I  want  Tai-yii  !  Oh, 
bring  us  together,  and  save  us  both  ! "  Here  he  broke 
down  altogether.  Thick  sobs  choked  his  further  utter- 
ance, until  relief  came  in  a  surging  flood  of  tears. 

All  this  time  Tai-yii  was  dying,  dying  beyond  hope  of 
recall.  She  knew  that  the  hour  of  release  was  at  hand, 
and  she  lay  there  quietly  waiting  for  death.  Every  now 
and  again  she  swallowed  a  teaspoonful  of  broth,  but 
gradually  the  light  faded  out  of  her  eyes,  and  the  slave- 
girl,  faithful  to  the  last,  felt  that  her  young  mistress's 
fingers  were  rapidly  growing  cold.  At  that  moment, 
Tai-yii's  lips  were  seen  to  move,  and  she  was  distinctly 
heard  to  say,  "O  Pao-yii,  Pao-yii  .  .  ."  Those  words 
were  her  last. 


3/8  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

Just  then,  breaking  in  upon  the  hushed  moments 
which  succeed  dissolution,  sounds  of  far-off  music  were 
borne  along  upon  the  breeze.  The  slave-girl  crept 
stealthily  to  the  door,  and  strained  her  ear  to  listen  ;  but 
she  could  hear  nothing  save  the  soughing  of  the  wind  as 
it  moaned  fitfully  through  the  trees. 

But  the  bridegroom  himself  had  already  entered  the 
valley  of  the  dark  shadow.  Pao-yii  was  very  ill.  He 
raved  and  raved  about  Tai-yii,  until  at  length  Pao-ch'ai, 
who  had  heard  the  news,  took  upon  herself  the  painful 
task  of  telling  him  she  was  already  dead.  "  Dead  ? " 
cried  Pao-yii,  "  dead  ?  "  and  with  a  loud  groan  he  fell 
back  upon  the  bed  insensible.  A  darkness  came  before 
his  eyes,  and  he  seemed  to  be  transported  into  a  region 
which  was  unfamiliar  to  him.  Looking  about,  he  saw 
some  one  advancing  towards  him,  and  immediately 
called  out  to  the  stranger  to  be  kind  enough  to  tell  him 
where  he  was.  "  You  are  on  the  road  to  the  next  world," 
replied  the  man  ;  "  but  your  span  of  life  is  not  yet  com- 
plete, and  you  have  no  business  here."  Pao-yii  ex- 
plained that  he  had  come  in  search  of  Tai-yii,  who  had 
lately  died  ;  to  which  the  man  replied  that  Tai-yu's  soul 
had  already  gone  back  to  its  home  in  the  pure  serene. 
"And  if  you  would  see  her  again,"  added  the  man, 
"  return  to  your  duties  upon  earth.  Fulfil  your  destiny 
there,  chasten  your  understanding,  nourish  the  divinity 
that  is  within  you,  and  you  may  yet  hope  to  meet  her 
once  more."  The  man  then  flung  a  stone  at  him  and 
struck  him  over  the  heart,  which  so  frightened  Pao-yii 
that  he  turned  to  retrace  his  steps.  At  that  moment  he 
heard  himself  loudly  called  by  name  ;  and  opening  his 
eyes,  saw  his  mother  and  grandmother  standing  by  the 
side  of  his  bed. 


THE  HUNG  LOU  M&NG  379 

They  had  thought  that  he  was  gone,  and  were  over- 
joyed at  seeing  him  return  to  life,  even  though  it  was 
the  same  life  as  before,  clouded  with  the  great  sorrow  of 
unreason.  For  now  they  could  always  hope  ;  and  when 
they  saw  him  daily  grow  stronger  and  stronger  in  bodily 
health,  it  seemed  that  ere  long  even  his  mental  equi- 
librium might  be  restored.  The  more  so  that  he  had 
ceased  to  mention  Tai-yii's  name,  and  treated  Pao-ch'ai 
with  marked  kindness  and  respect. 

All  this  time  the  fortunes  of  the  two  grand  families  are 
sinking  from  bad  to  worse.  Pao-yii's  uncle  is  mixed  up 
in  an  act  of  disgraceful  oppression  ;  while  his  father, 
at  his  new  post,  makes  the  foolish  endeavour  to  be  an 
honest  incorrupt  official.  He  tries  to  put  his  foot  down 
upon  the  system  of  bribery  which  prevails,  but  succeeds 
only  in  getting  himself  recalled  and  impeached  for  mal- 
administration of  affairs.  The  upshot  of  all  this  is  that 
an  Imperial  decree  is  issued  confiscating  the  property  and 
depriving  the  families  of  their  hereditary  rank.  Besides 
this,  the  lineal  representatives  are  to  be  banished  ;  and 
within  the  walls  which  have  been  so  long  sacred  to  mirth 
and  merrymaking,  consternation  now  reigns  supreme. 
"  O  high  Heaven,"  cries  Pao-yii's  father,  as  his  brother 
and  nephew  start  for  their  place  of  banishment,  "  that 
the  fortunes  of  our  family  should  fall  like  this!" 

Of  all,  perhaps  the  old  grandmother  felt  the  blow 
most  severely.  She  had  lived  for  eighty-three  years  in 
affluence,  accustomed  to  the  devotion  of  her  children 
and  the  adulation  of  friends.  But  now  money  was 
scarce,  and  the  voice  of  flattery  unheard.  The  courtiers 
of  prosperous  days  forgot  to  call,  and  even  the  servants 
deserted  at  their  posts.  And  so  it  came  about  that  the 
old  lady  fell  ill,  and  within  a  few  days  was  lying  upon 


380  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

her  death-bed.  She  spoke  a  kind  word  to  all,  except  to 
Pao-ch'ai.  For  her  she  had  only  a  sigh,  that  fate  had 
linked  her  with  a  husband  whose  heart  was  buried  in  the 
grave.  So  she  died,  and  there  was  a  splendid  funeral, 
paid  for  out  of  funds  raised  at  the  pawnshop.  Pao- 
ch'ai  appeared  in  white ;  and  among  the  flowers  which 
were  gathered  around  the  bier,  she  was  unanimously 
pronounced  to  be  the  fairest  blossom  of  all. 

Then  other  members  of  the  family  die,  and  Pao-yii 
relapses  into  a  condition  as  critical  as  ever.  He  is  in 
fact  at  the  point  of  death,  when  a  startling  announce- 
ment restores  him  again  to  consciousness.  A  Buddhist 
priest  is  at  the  outer  gate,  and  he  has  brought  back 
Pao-yii's  lost  tablet  of  jade.  There  was,  of  course,  great 
excitement  on  all  sides  ;  but  the  priest  refused  to  part 
with  the  jade  until  he  had  got  the  promised  reward. 
And  where  now  was  it  possible  to  raise  such  a  sum  as 
that,  and  at  a  moment's  notice  ?  Still  it  was  felt  that 
the  tablet  must  be  recovered  at  all  costs.  Pao-ytl's  life 
depended  on  it,  and  he  was  the  sole  hope  of  the  family. 
So  the  priest  was  promised  his  reward,  and  the  jade 
was  conveyed  into  the  sick-room.  But  when  Pao-yti 
clutched  it  in  his  eager  hand,  he  dropped  it  with  a  loud 
cry  and  fell  back  gasping  upon  the  bed. 

In  a  few  minutes  Pao-yii's  breathing  became  more  and 
more  distressed,  and  a  servant  ran  out  to  call  in  the 
priest,  in  the  hope  that  something  might^yet  be  done.  The 
priest,  however,  had  disappeared,  and  by  this  time  Pao- 
yii  had  ceased  to  breathe. 

Immediately  upon  the  disunion  of  body  and  soul 
which  mortals  call  death,  the  spirit  of  Pao-yii  set  off 
on  its  journey  to  the  Infinite,  led  by  a  Buddhist  priest. 
Just  then  a  voice  called  out  and  said  that  Tai-yii  was 


THE  HUNG  LOU  M&NG  381 

awaiting  him,  and  at  that  moment  many  familiar  faces 
crowded  round  him,  but  as  he  gazed  at  them  in  recogni- 
tion, they  changed  into  grinning  goblins.  At  length  he 
reached  a  spot  where  there  was  a  beautiful  crimson 
flower  in  an  enclosure,  so  carefully  tended  that  neither 
bees  nor  butterflies  were  allowed  to  settle  upon  it.  It 
was  a  flower,  he  was  told,  which_had  beento  fulfil  a 
mission  upon~earth,  and  had  recently  returnecTto  the 
Infinite.  He  was  now  taken  to  see  Tai-yii.  A  bamboo 
screen  which  hung  before  the  entrance  to  a  room  was 
raised,  and  there  before  him  stood  his  heart's  idol,  his 
lost  Tai-yii.  Stretching  forth  his  hands,  he  was  about 
to  speak  to  her,  when  suddenly  the  screen  was  hastily 
dropped.  The  priest  gave  him  a  shove,  and  he  fell 
backwards,  awaking  as  though  from  a  dream. 

Once  more  he  had  regained  a  new  hold  upon  life ; 
once  more  he  had  emerged  from  the  very  jaws  of  death. 
This  time  he  was  a  changed  man.  He  devoted  himself 
to  reading  for  the  great  public  examination,  in  the  hope 
of  securing  the  much  coveted  degree  of  Master  of  Arts. 
Nevertheless,  he  talks  little,  and  seems  to  care  less,  about 
the  honours  and  glory  of  this  world;  and  what  is  stranger 
than  all,  he  appears  to  have  very  much  lost  his  taste  for 
the  once  fascinating  society  of  women.  For  a  time  he 
seems  to  be  under  the  spell  of  a  religious  craze,  and  is 
always  arguing  with  Pao-ch'ai  upon  the  advantages  of 
devoting  one's  life  to  the  service  of  Buddha.  But  shortly 
before  the  examination  he  burned  all  the  books  he  had 
collected  which  treated  of  immortality  and  a  future  state, 
and  concentrated  every  thought  upon  the  great  object 
before  him. 

At  length  the  day  comes,  and  Pao-yii,  accompanied  by 
a  nephew  who  is  also  a  candidate,  prepares  to  enter  the 


382  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

arena.  His  father  was  away  from  home.  He  had  gone 
southwards  to  take  the  remains  of  the  grandmother  and  of 
Tai-yii  back  to  their  ancestral  burying-ground.  So  Pao- 
yii  first  goes  to  take  leave  of  his  mother,  and  she  addresses 
to  him  a  few  parting  words,  full  of  encouragement  and 
hope.  Then  Pao-yii  falls  upon  his  knees,  and  implores 
her  pardon  for  all  the  trouble  he  has  caused  her.  "  I  can 
only  trust,"  he  added,  "  that  I  shall  now  be  successful, 
and  that  you,  dear  mother,  will  be  happy."  And  then 
amid  tears  and  good  wishes,  the  two  young  men  set  out  for 
the  examination-hall,  where,  with  several  thousand  other 
candidates,  they  are  to  remain  for  some  time  immured. 

The  hours  and  days  speed  apace,  full  of  arduous  effort 
to  those  within,  of  anxiety  to  those  without.  At  last  the 
great  gates  are  thrown  wide  open,  and  the  vast  crowd 
of  worn-out,  weary  students  bursts  forth,  to  meet  the 
equally  vast  crowd  of  eager,  expectant  friends.  In  the 
crush  that  ensues,  Pao-yii  and  his  nephew  lose  sight  of 
each  other,  and  the  nephew  reaches  home  first.  There 
the  feast  of  welcome  is  already  spread,  and  the  wine- 
kettles  are  put  to  the  fire.  So  every  now  and  again  some- 
body runs  out  to  see  if  Pao-yii  is  not  yet  in  sight.  But  the 
time  passes  and  he  comes  not.  Fears  as  to  his  personal 
safety  begin  to  be  aroused,  and  messengers  are  -sent  out 
in  all  directions.  Pao-yii  is  nowhere  to  be  found.  The 
night  comes  and  goes.  The  next  day  and  the  next  day, 
and  still  no  Pao-yii.  He  has  disappeared  without  leaving 
behind  him  the  faintest  clue  to  his  whereabouts.  Mean- 
while, the  list  of  successful  candidates  is  published,  and 
Pao-yii's  name  stands  seventh  on  the  list.  His  nephew 
has  the  I3oth  place.  What  a  triumph  for  the  family, 
and  what  rapture  would  have  been  theirs,  but  for  the 
mysterious  absence  of  Pao-yii. 


THE  HUNG  LOU  MENG  383 

Thus  their  joy  was  shaded  by  sorrow,  until  hope, 
springing  eternal,  was  unexpectedly  revived.  Pao-yii's 
winning  essay  had  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Emperor, 
and  his  Majesty  issued  an  order  for  the  writer  to  appear 
at  Court.  An  Imperial  order  may  not  be  lightly  dis- 
regarded ;  and  it  was  fervently  hoped  by  the  family  that 
by  these  means  Pao-yii  might  be  restored  to  them. 
This,  in  fact,  was  all  that  was  wanting  now  to  secure  the 
renewed  prosperity  of  the  two  ancient  houses.  The  tide 
of  events  had  set  favourably  at  last.  Those  who  had 
been  banished  to  the  frontier  had  greatly  distinguished 
themselves  against  the  banditti  who  ravaged  the  country 
round  about.  There  was  Pao-yii's  success  and  his 
nephew's  ;  and  above  all,  the  gracious  clemency  of  the 
Son  of  Heaven.  Free  pardons  were  granted,  confiscated 
estates  were  returned.  The  two  families  basked  again 
in  the  glow  of  Imperial  favour.  Pao-ch'ai  was  about  to 
become  a  mother  ;  the  ancestral  line  might  be  continued 
after  all.  But  Pao-yii,  where  was  he  ?  That  remained  a 
mystery  still,  against  which  even  the  Emperor's  mandate 
proved  to  be  of  no  avail. 

It  was  on  his  return  journey  that  Pao-yii's  father  heard 
of  the  success  and  disappearance  of  his  son.  Torn  by 
conflicting  emotions  he  hurried  on,  in  his  haste  to  reach 
home  and  aid  in  unravelling  the  secret  of  Pao-yii's  hiding- 
place.  One  moonlight  night,  his  boat  lay  anchored 
alongside  the  shore,  which  a  storm  of  the  previous  day 
had  wrapped  in  a  mantle  of  snow.  He  was  sitting 
writing  at  a  table,  when  suddenly,  through  the  half-open 
door,  advancing  towards  him  over  the  bow  of  the  boat, 
his  silhouette  sharply  defined  against  the  surrounding 
snow,  he  saw  the  figure  of  a  shaven-headed  Buddhist 
priest.  The  priest  knelt  down,  and  struck  his  head  four 


384  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

times  upon  the  ground,  and  then,  without  a  word,  turned 
back  to  join  two  other  priests  who  were  awaiting  him. 
The  three  vanished  as  imperceptibly  as  they  had  come  ; 
before,  indeed,  the  astonished  father  was  able  to  realise 
that  he  had  been,  for  the  last  time,  face  to  face  with 
Pao-yii ! 


CHAPTER   II 
THE  EMPERORS  K'ANG  HSI  AND  CH'IEN  LUNG 

THE  second  Emperor  of  the  Manchu  dynasty,  known  to 
the  world  by  his  year-title  K'ANG  Hsi,  succeeded  to  the 
throne  in  1662  when  he  was  only  eight  years  of  age,  and 
six  years  later  he  took  up  the  reins  of  government.  Fairly 
tall  and  well-proportioned,  he  loved  all  manly  exercises 
and  devoted  three  months  annually  to  hunting.  Large 
bright  eyes  lighted  up  his  face,  which  was  pitted  with 
small-pox.  Contemporary  observers  vie  in  praising  his 
wit,  understanding,  and  liberality  of  mind.  Indefatigable 
in  government,  he  kept  a  careful  watch  on  his  Ministers, 
his  love  for  the  people  leading  him  to  prefer  economy 
to  taxation.  He  was  personally  frugal,  yet  on  public 
works  he  would  lavish  large  sums.  He  patronised  the 
Jesuits,  whom  he  employed  in  surveying  the  empire,  in 
astronomy,  and  in  casting  cannon  ;  though  latterly  he 
found  it  necessary  to  impose  restrictions  on  their  pro- 
pagandism.  In  spite  of  war  and  rebellion,  which  must 
have  encroached  seriously  upon  his  time,  he  found  leisure 
to  initiate  and  carry  out,  with  the  aid  of  the  leading 
scholars  of  the  day,  several  of  the  greatest  literary  enter- 
prises the  world  has  ever  seen.  The  chief  of  these  are 
(i)  the  Klang  Hsi  Tzii  Tien,  the  great  standard  dictionary 
of  the  Chinese  language  ;  (2)  the  Plei  Wen  Yiin  Fu,  a 

huge  concordance  to  all  literature,  bound  up  in  forty- 

385 


386  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

four  large  closely-printed  volumes  ;  (3)  the  P'ien  Tzti  Lei 
P'ien,  a  similar  work,  with  a  different  arrangement,  bound 
up  in  thirty-six  large  volumes  ;  (4)  the  Yuan  Chien  Lei 
Han,  an  encyclopaedia,  bound  up  in  forty-four  volumes ; 
and  (5)  the  Tu  Shu  Chi  Chleng,  a  profusely  illustrated 
encyclopaedia,  in  1628  volumes  of  about  200  pages  to  each. 
To  the  above  must  be  added  a  considerable  collection  of 
literary  remains,  in  prose  and  verse,  which,  of  course, 
were  actually  the  Emperor's  own  work.  It  cannot  be 
said  that  any  of  these  remains  are  of  a  high  order,  or  are 
familiar  to  the  public  at  large,  with  a  single  and  trifling 
exception.  The  so-called  Sacred  Edict  is  known  from 
one  end  of  China  to  the  other.  It  originally  consisted  of 
sixteen  moral  maxims  delivered  in  1670  under  the  form 
of  an  edict  by  the  Emperor  K'ang  Hsi.  His  Majesty 
himself  had  just  reached  the  mature  age  of  sixteen.  He 
had  then  probably  discovered  that  men's  morals  were 
no  longer  what  they  had  been  in  the  days  of  "ancient 
kings,"  and  with  boyish  earnestness  he  made  a  kindly 
effort  to  do  something  for  the  people  whose  welfare  was 
destined  to  be  for  so  many  years  to  come  his  chief  and 
most  absorbing  care.  The  maxims  are  commonplace 
enough,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  great  Emperor  who 
loved  his  "children"  more  than  himself  they  have  been 
exalted  into  utterances  almost  divine.  Here  are  the  first, 
seventh,  and  eleventh  maxims,  as  specimens : — 

"  Pay  great  attention  to  filial  piety  and  to  brotherly 
obedience,  in  order  to  give  due  weight  to  human 
relationships." 

"  Discard  strange  doctrines,  in  order  to  glorify  the 
orthodox  teaching." 

"  Educate  your  sons  and  younger  brothers,  in  order 
to  hinder  them  from  doing  what  is  wrong." 


CH'IEN  LUNG  387 

K'ang  Hsi  died  in  1722,  after  completing  a  full  cycle 
of  sixty  years  as  occupant  of  the  Dragon  Throne.  His 
son  and  successor,  Yung  Cheng,  caused  one  hundred 
picked  scholars  to  submit  essays  enlarging  upon  the 
maxims  of  his  father,  and  of  these  the  sixteen  best  were 
chosen,  and  in  1724  it  was  enacted  that  they  should  be 
publicly  read  to  the  people  on  the  ist  and  I5th  of  each 
month  in  every  city  and  town  in  the  empire.  This  law 
is  still  in  force.  Subsequently,  the  sixteen  essays  were 
paraphrased  into  easy  colloquial ;  and  now  the  maxims, 
the  essays,  and  the  paraphrase,  together  make  up  a 
volume  which  may  be  roughly  said  to  contain  the  whole 
duty  of  man. 

In  1735  the  Emperor  Yung  Cheng  died,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  fourth  son,  who  reigned  as  CH'IEN 
LUNG.  An  able  ruler,  with  an  insatiable  thirst  for 
knowledge,  and  an  indefatigable  administrator,  he  rivals 
his  grandfather's  fame  as  a  sovereign  and  a  patron  of 
letters.  New  editions  of  important  historical  works  and 
of  encyclopaedias  were  issued  by  Imperial  order,  and 
under  the  superintendence  of  the  Emperor  himself.  In 
1772  there  was  a  general  search  for  all  literary  works 
worthy  of  preservation,  and  ten  years  later  a  voluminous 
collection  of  these  was  published,  embracing  many  rare 
books  taken  from  the  great  encyclopaedia  of  the 
Emperor  Yung  Lo.  A  descriptive  catalogue  of  the 
Imperial  Library,  containing  3460  works  arranged  under 
the  four  heads  of  Classics,  History,  Philosophy,  and 
General  Literature,  was  drawn  up  in  1772-1790.  It 
gives  the  history  of  each  work,  which  is  also  criticised. 
The  vastness  of  this  catalogue  led  to  the  publication 
of  an  abridgment,  which  omits  all  works  not  actually 
preserved  in  the  Library.  The  personal  writings  of 


388  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

this  Emperor  are  very  voluminous.  They  consist  of  a 
general  collection  containing  a  variety  of  notes  on  cur- 
rent or  ancient  topics,  prefaces  to  books,  and  the  like, 
and  also  of  a  collection  of  poems.  Of  these  last,  those 
produced  between  1736  and  1783  were  published,  and 
reached  the  almost  incredible  total  of  33,950  separate 
pieces.  It  need  hardly  be  added  that  nearly  all  are  very 
short.  Even  thus  the  output  must  be  considered  a 
record,  apart  from  the  fact  that  during  the  reign  there 
was  a  plentiful  supply  both  of  war  and  rebellion. 
Burmah  and  Nepaul  were  forced  to  pay  tribute ; 
Chinese  supremacy  was  established  in  Tibet ;  and 
Kuldja  and  Kashgaria  were  added  to  the  empire.  In 
1795,  on  completing  a  cycle  of  sixty  years  of  power,  the 
Emperor  abdicated  in  favour  of  his  son,  and  three  years 
later  he  died. 

His  Majesty's  poetry,  though  artificially  correct,  was 
mediocre  enough.  The  following  stanza,  "  On  Hearing 
the  Cicada,"  is  a  good  example,  conforming  as  it  does  to 
all  the  rules  of  versification,  but  wanting  in  that  one 
feature  which  makes  the  "stop-short"  what  it  is,  viz., 
that  "  although  the  words  end,  the  sense  still  goes  on  "  : — 

"  The  season  is  a  month  behind 

in  this  land  of  northern  breeze^ 
When  first  I  hear  the  harsh  cicada 

shrieking  through  the  trees. 
I  look,  but  cannot  mark  its  form 

amid  the  foliage  fair, — 
Naught  but  a  flash  of  shadow 

•which  goes  flitting  here  and  there" 

Here,  instead  of  being  carried  away  into  some  suggested 
train  of  thought,  the  reader  is  fairly  entitled  to  ask 
"  What  then  ?  " 


CH'IEN  LUNG  389 

The  following  is  a  somewhat  more  spirited  production. 
It  is  a  song  written  by  Ch'ien  Lung,  to  be  inserted  and 
sung  in  a  play  entitled  "  Picking  up  Gold,"  by  a  beggar 
who  is  fortunate  enough  to  stumble  across  a  large 
nugget  :— 

"  A  brimless  cap  of  felt  stuck  on  my  head; 
No  coat) — a  myriad-patchwork  quilt  instead j 
In  my  hand  a  bamboo  staff; 
Hempen  sandals  on  my  feet ; 
As  I  slouch  along  the  street, 
'  Pity  the  poor  beggar ;'  to  the  passers-by  I  call, 
Hoping  to  obtain  broken  food  and  dregs  of  wine. 
Then  when  night's  dark  shadows  fa//, 
Oh  merrily,  Oh  merrily  I  laugh, 
Drinking  myself  to  sleep,  sheltered  in  some  old  shrine. 

Black,  black,  the  clouds  close  round  on  every  side; 
White,  white,  the  gossamer  flakes  fly  far  and  wide. 
Ai-yah  !  is't  jade  that  sudden  decks  the  eaves  ? 
With  silver  tiles  me  seems  the  streets  are  laid. 
Oh,  in  what  glorious  garb  Nature's  arrayed, 
Displaying  fairy  features  on  a  lovely  face  I 
But  stay !  the  night  is  drawing  on  apace  ; 
Nothing  remains  my  homeward  track  to  guide ; 
See  how  the  feathered  snow  weighs  down  the  palm-tree  leaves  I 

I  wag  my  head  and  clap  my  hands,  ha  !  ha  ! 
I  clap  my  hands  and  wag  my  head,  ha  !  ha  ! 
There  in  the  drift  a  lump  half-sunken  lies ; 
The  beggars  luck  has  turned  up  trumps  at  last  1 
O  gold  I— for  thee  dear  relatives  will  part, 
Dear  friends  forget  their  hours  of  friendship  past, 
Husband  and  wife  tear  at  each  other's  heart, 
Father  and  son  sever  life's  closest  ties  j 
For  thee,  the  ignoble  thief  all  rule  and  law  defies. 

What  men  of  this  world  most  adore  is  gold; 
The  devils  deep  in  hell  the  dross  adore ; 
Where  gold  is  there  the  gods  are  in  its  wake. 
Now  shall  I  never  more  produce  the  snake  ; 


390  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

Stand  begging  where  the  cross-roads  meet  no  more; 
Or  skiver  me  to  sleep  in  the  rush  hut,  dank  and  cold; 
Or  lean  against  the  rich  or  poor  man's  door. 
Away  my  yellow  bowl,  my  earthen  jar ! 
See,  thus  I  rend  my  pouch  and  hurl  my  gourd  afar  I 

An  official  hat  and  girdle  1  shall  wear, 
And  this  shrunk  shank  in  boots  with  pipeclayed  soles  encase; 
On  fete  and  holiday  how  jovial  I  shall  be, 

Joining  my  friends  in  the  tavern  or  the  tea-shop  o'er  their  tea', 
Swagger,  swagger,  swagger,  with  such  an  air  and  grace. 
Sometimes  a  sleek  steed  my  ' Excellence*  will  bear; 
Or  in  a  sedan  I  shall  ride  at  ease, 
One  servant  with  my  hat-box  close  behind  the  chair, 
While  another  on  his  shoulders  carries  my  valise.n 


CHAPTER   III 

CLASSICAL  AND  MISCELLANEOUS  LITERATURE 
—POETRY 

FOREMOST  among  the  scholars  of  the  present  dynasty 
stands  the  name  of  Ku  CHIANG  (1612-1681).  Remaining 
faithful  to  the  Mings  after  their  final  downfall,  he  changed 
his  name  to  Ku  Yen-wu,  and  for  a  long  time  wandered 
about  the  country  in  disguise.  He  declined  to  serve 
under  the  Manchus,  and  supported  himself  by  farming. 
A  profound  student,  it  is  recorded  that  in  his  wanderings 
he  always  carried  about  with  him  several  horse-loads  of 
books  to  consult  whenever  his  memory  might  be  at  fault. 
His  writings  on  the  Classics,  history,  topography,  and 
poetry  are  still  highly  esteemed.  To  foreigners  he  is 
best  known  as  the  author  of  the  Jih  Chih  Lu,  which 
contains  his  notes,  chiefly  on  the  Classics  and  history, 
gathered  during  a  course  of  reading  which  extended 
over  thirty  years.  He  also  wrote  many  works  upon  the 
ancient  sounds  and  rhymes. 

CHU  YUNG-SHUN  (1617-1689)  was  delicate  as  a  child, 
and  his  mother  made  him  practise  the  Taoist  art  of  pro- 
longing life  indefinitely,  which  seems  to  be  nothing  more 
than  a  system  of  regular  breathing  with  deep  inspira- 
tions. He  was  a  native  of  a  town  in  Kiangsu,  at  the  sack 
of  which,  by  the  conquering  Tartars,  his  father  perished 


391 


392  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

rather  than  submit  to  the  new  dynasty.  In  consequence 
of  his  father's  death  he  steadily  declined  to  enter  upon 
a  public  career,  and  gave  up  his  life  to  study  and  teach- 
ing. He  was  the  author  of  commentaries  upon  the  Great 
Learning  and  the  Doctrine  of  the  Mean,  and  of  other 
works;  but  none  of  these  is  so  famous  as  his  Family 
Maxims,  a  little  book  which,  on  account  of  the  author's 
name,  has  often  been  attributed  to  the  great  commentator 
Chu  Hsi.  The  piquancy  of  these  maxims  disappears  in 
translation,  owing  as  they  do  much  more  to  literary  form 
than  to  subject-matter.  Here  are  two  specimens  : — 

"  Forget  the  good  deeds  you  have  done  ;  remember 
the  kindnesses  you  have  received." 

"  Mind  your  own  business,  follow  out  your  destiny, 
live  in  accord  with  the  age,  and  leave  the  rest  to  God. 
He  who  can  do  this  is  near  indeed." 

His  own  favourite  saying  was — 

"To  know  what  ought  to  be  known,  and  to  do  what 
ought  to  be  done,  that  is  enough.  There  is  no  time  for 
anything  else." 

Three  days  before  his  death  he  struggled  into  the  an- 
cestral hall,  and  there  before  the  family  tablets  called 
the  spirits  of  his  forefathers  to  witness  that  he  had  never 
injured  them  by  word  or  deed. 

LAN  TING-YUAN  (1680-1733),  better  known  as  Lan  Lu- 
chou,  devoted  himself  as  a  youth  to  poetry,  literature, 
and  political  economy.  He  accompanied  his  brother  to 
Formosa  as  military  secretary,  and  his  account  of  the 
expedition  attracted  public  attention.  Recommended  to 
the  Emperor,  he  became  magistrate  of  P'u-lin,  and  dis- 
tinguished himself  as  much  by  his  just  and  incorrupt 
administration  as  by  his  literary  abilities.  He  managed, 


LAN  TING-YtJAN  393 

however,  to  make  enemies  among  his  superior  officers, 
and  within  three  years  he  was  impeached  for  insubordi- 
nation and  thrown  into  prison.  His  case  was  subse- 
quently laid  before  the  Emperor,  who  not  only  set  him 
free,  but  appointed  him  to  be  Prefect  at  Canton,  bestow- 
ing upon  him  at  the  same  time  some  valuable  medicine, 
an  autograph  copy  of  verses,  a  sable  robe,  some  joss- 
stick,  and  other  coveted  marks  of  Imperial  favour.  But 
all  was  in  vain.  He  died  of  a  broken  heart  one  month 
after  taking  up  his  post.  His  complete  works  have  been 
published  in  twenty  small  octavo  volumes,  of  which 
works  perhaps  the  best  known  of  all  is  a  treatise  on  the 
proper  training  of  women,  which  fills  two  of  the  above 
volumes.  This  is  divided  under  four  heads,  namely, 
Virtue,  Speech,  Personal  Appearance,  and  Duty,  an 
extended  education  in  the  intellectual  sense  not  coming 
within  the  writer's  purview.  The  chapters  are  short, 
and  many  of  them  are  introduced  by  some  ancient 
aphorism,  forming  a  convenient  peg  upon  which  to 
hang  a  moral  lesson,  copious  extracts  being  made  from 
the  work  of  the  Lady  Pan  of  the  Han  dynasty.  A  few 
lines  from  his  preface  may  be  interesting  : — 

"  Good  government  of  the  empire  depends  upon 
morals ;  correctness  of  morals  depends  upon  right  or- 
dering of  the  family  ;  and  right  ordering  of  the  family 
depends  upon  the  wife.  ...  If  the  curtain  which 
divides  the  men  from  the  women  is  too  thin  to  keep 
them  apart,  misfortune  will  come  to  the  family  and 
to  the  State.  Purification  of  morals,  from  the  time  of 
the  creation  until  now,  has  always  come  from  women. 
Women  are  not  all  alike ;  some  are  good  and  some 
are  bad.  For  bringing  them  to  a  proper  uniformity 
there  is  nothing  like  education.  In  old  days  both  boys 


394  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

and  girls  were  educated  .  .  .  but  now  the  books  used 
no  longer  exist,  and  we  know  not  the  details  of  the 
system.  .  .  .  The  education  of  a  woman  is  not  like  that 
of  her  husband,  which  may  be  said  to  continue  daily 
all  through  life.  For  he  can  always  take  up  a  classic 
or  a  history,  or  familiarise  himself  with  the  works  of 
miscellaneous  writers ;  whereas  a  woman's  education 
does  not  extend  beyond  ten  years,  after  which  she  takes 
upon  herself  the  manifold  responsibilities  of  a  house- 
hold. She  is  then  no  longer  able  to  give  her  undivided 
attention  to  books,  and  cannot  investigate  thoroughly, 
the  result  being  that  her  learning  is  not  sufficiently  ex- 
tensive to  enable  her  to  grasp  principles.  She  is,  as  it 
were,  carried  away  upon  a  flood,  without  hope  of  return, 
and  it  is  difficult  for  her  to  make  any  use  of  the  know- 
ledge she  has  acquired.  Surely  then  a  work  on  the 
education  of  women  is  much  to  be  desired." 

This  is  how  one  phase  of  female  virtue  is  illustrated  by 
anecdote  : — 

"A  man  having  been  killed  in  a  brawl,  two  brothers 
were  arrested  for  the  murder  and  brought  to  trial.  Each 
one  swore  that  he  personally  was  the  murderer,  and  that 
the  other  was  innocent.  The  judge  was  thus  unable  to 
decide  the  case,  and  referred  it  to  the  Prince.  The 
Prince  bade  him  summon  their  mother,  and  ask  which 
of  them  had  done  the  deed.  '  Punish  the  younger/  she 
replied  through  a  flood  of  tears.  '  People  are  usually 
more  fond  of  the  younger/  observed  the  judge;  'how 
is  it  you  wish  me  to  punish  him?'  'He  is  my  own 
child/  answered  the  woman;  'the  elder  is  the  son  of 
my  husband's  first  wife.  When  my  husband  died  he 
begged  me  to  take  care  of  the  boy,  and  I  promised  I 
would.  If  now  I  were  to  let  the  elder  be  punished  while 


LAN  TING-YUAN  395 

the  younger  escaped,  I  should  be  only  gratifying  my 
private  feelings  and  wronging  the  dead.  I  have  no 
alternative.'  And  she  wept  on  until  her  clothes  were 
drenched  with  tears.  Meanwhile  the  judge  reported  to 
the  Prince,  and  the  latter,  astonished  at  her  magnanimity, 
pardoned  both  the  accused." 

Two  more  of  the  above  twenty  volumes  are  devoted 
to  the  most  remarkable  of  the  criminal  cases  tried  by 
him  during  his  short  magisterial  career.  An  extract 
from  the  preface  (1729)  to  his  complete  works,  penned 
by  an  ardent  admirer,  will  give  an  idea  of  the  estimation 
in  which  these  are  held  : — 

"  My  master's  judicial  capacity  was  of  a  remarkably 
high  order,  as  though  the  mantle  of  Pao  Hsiao-su 1  had 
descended  upon  him.  In  very  difficult  cases  he  would 
investigate  dispassionately  and  calmly,  appearing  to 
possess  some  unusual  method  for  worming  out  the 
truth  ;  so  that  the  most  crafty  lawyers  and  the  most 
experienced  scoundrels,  whom  no  logic  could  entangle 
and  no  pains  intimidate,  upon  being  brought  before 
him,  found  themselves  deserted  by  their  former  cunning, 
and  confessed  readily  without  waiting  for  the  applica- 
tion of  torture.  I,  indeed,  have  often  wondered  how 
it  is  that  torture  is  brought  into  requisition  so  much 
in  judicial  investigations.  For,  under  the  influence  ol 
the  '  three  wooden  instruments,'  what  evidence  is  there 
which  cannot  be  elicited  ? — to  say  nothing  of  the  danger 
of  a  mistake  and  the  unutterable  injury  thus  inflicted 
upon  the  departed  spirits  in  the  realms  below.  Now, 
my  master,  in  investigating  and  deciding  cases,  was 
fearful  only  lest  his  people  should  not  obtain  a  full  and 
fair  hearing ;  he,  therefore,  argued  each  point  with  them 

1  A  Solomonic  judge  under  the  Sung  dynasty. 


396  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

quietly  and  kindly  until  they  were  thoroughly  committed 
to  a  certain  position,  with  no  possibility  of  backing  out, 
and  then  he  decided  the  case  upon  its  merits  as  thus 
set  forth.  By  such  means,  those  who  were  bambooed 
had  no  cause  for  complaint,  while  those  who  were  con- 
demned to  die  died  without  resenting  their  sentence  ; 
the  people  were  unable  to  deceive  him,  and  they  did  not 
even  venture  to  make  the  attempt.  Thus  did  he  carry  out 
the  Confucian  doctrine  of  respecting  popular  feeling ; l 
and  were  all  judicial  officers  to  decide  cases  in  the  same 
careful  and  impartial  manner,  there  would  not  be  a  single 
injured  suitor  under  the  canopy  of  heaven." 

The  following  is  a  specimen  case  dealing  with  the  evil 
effects  of  superstitious  doctrines  : — 

"The  people  of  the  Ch'ao-yang  district  are  great  on 
bogies,  and  love  to  talk  of  spirits  and  Buddhas.  The 
gentry  and  their  wives  devote  themselves  to  Ta  Tien, 
but  the  women  generally  of  the  neighbourhood  flock 
in  crowds  to  the  temples  to  burn  incense  and  adore 
Buddha,  forming  an  unbroken  string  along  the  road. 
Hence,  much  ghostly  and  supernatural  nonsense  gets 
spread  about;  and  hence  it  was  that  the  Hou-fien  sect 
came  to  flourish.  I  know  nothing  of  the  origin  of  this 
sect.  It  was  started  amongst  the  Ch'ao-yang  people  by 
two  men,  named  Yen  and  Chou  respectively,  who  said 
that  they  had  been  instructed  by  a  white-bearded 
Immortal,  and  who,  when  an  attempt  to  arrest  them 
was  made  by  a  predecessor  in  office,  absconded  with 
their  families  and  remained  in  concealment.  By  and  by, 
however,  they  came  back,  calling  themselves  the  White 
Lily  or  the  White  Aspen  sect.  I  imagine  that  White 

1  "  In  hearing  litigations,  I  am  like  any  other  body.  What  is  necessary  is 
to  cause  the  people  to  have  no  litigations"  (Legge). 


LAN  TING-YUAN  397 

Lily  was  the  real  designation,  the  alteration  in  name 
being  simply  made  to  deceive.  Their  'goddess'  was 
Yen's  own  wife,  and  she  pretended  to  be  able  to  summon 
wind  and  bring  down  rain,  enslave  bogies  and  exorcise 
spirits,  being  assisted  in  her  performances  by  her  para- 
mour, a  man  named  Hu,  who  called  himself  the  Immortal 
of  Pencil  Peak.  He  used  to  aid  in  writing  out  charms, 
spirting  water,  curing  diseases,  and  praying  for  heirs  ; 
and  he  could  enable  widows  to  hold  converse  with  their 
departed  husbands.  The  whole  district  was  taken  in  by 
these  people,  and  went  quite  mad  about  them,  people 
travelling  from  afar  to  worship  them  as  spiritual  guides, 
and,  with  many  offerings  of  money,  meats,  and  wines, 
enrolling  themselves  as  their  humble  disciples,  until  one 
would  have  said  it  was  market-day  in  the  neighbour- 
hood. I  heard  of  their  doings  one  day  as  I  was  returning 
from  the  prefectural  city.  They  had  already  established 
themselves  in  a  large  building  to  the  north  of  the  dis- 
trict; they  had  opened  a  preaching-hall,  collected  several 
hundred  persons  together,  and  for  the  two  previous  days 
had  been  availing  themselves  of  the  services  of  some 
play-actors  to  sing  and  perform  at  their  banquets.  I 
immediately  sent  off  constables  to  arrest  them ;  but  the 
constables  were  afraid  of  incurring  the  displeasure  of  the 
spirits  and  being  seized  by  the  soldiers  of  the  infernal 
regions,  while  so  much  protection  was  afforded  by 
various  families  of  wealth  and  position  that  the  guilty 
parties  succeeded  in  preventing  the  arrest  of  a  single  one 
of  their  number.  Therefore  I  proceeded  in  person  to 
their  establishment,  knocked  at  the  door,  and  seized  the 
goddess,  whom  I  subjected  to  a  searching  examination 
as  to  the  whereabouts  of  her  accomplices ;  but  the 
interior  of  the  place  being,  as  it  was,  a  perfect  maze  of 


398  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

passages  ramifying  in  every  direction,  when  I  seized  a 
torch  and  made  my  way  along,  even  if  I  did  stumble  up 
against  any  one,  they  were  gone  in  a  moment  before  I 
had  time  to  see  where.  It  was  a  veritable  nest  of  secret 
villany,  and  one  which  I  felt  ought  to  be  searched  to  the 
last  corner.  Accordingly,  from  the  goddess's  bed  in  a 
dark  and  out-of-the-way  chamber  I  dragged  forth  some 
ten  or  a  dozen  men  ;  while  out  of  the  Immortal's  bed- 
room I  brought  a  wooden  seal  of  office  belonging  to  the 
Lady  of  the  Moon,  also  a  copy  of  their  magic  ritual, 
a  quantity  of  soporifics,  wigs,  clothes,  and  ornaments, 
of  the  uses  of  which  I  was  then  totally  ignorant.  I 
further  made  a  great  effort  to  secure  the  person  of  the 
Immortal  himself ;  and  when  his  friends  and  rich  sup- 
porters saw  the  game  was  up,  they  surrendered  him  over 
to  justice.  At  his  examination  he  comported  himself  in 
a  very  singular  manner,  such  being  indeed  the  chief 
means  upon  which  he  relied,  besides  the  soporifics  and 
fine  dresses,  to  deceive  the  eyes  and  ears  of  the  public. 
As  to  his  credulous  dupes,  male  and  female,  when  they 
heard  the  name  of  the  Lady  of  the  Moon  they  would  be 
at  first  somewhat  scared  ;  but  by  and  by,  seeing  that  the 
goddess  was  certainly  a  woman,  they  would  begin  to 
regain  courage,  while  the  Immortal  himself,  with  his 
hair  dressed  out  and  his  face  powdered  and  his  skirts 
fluttering  about,  hovered  round  the  goddess,  and  assum- 
ing all  the  airs  and  graces  of  a  supernatural  beauty, 
soon  convinced  the  spectators  that  he  was  really  the 
Lady  of  the  Moon,  and  quite  put  them  oft'  the  scent  as 
to  his  real  sex.  Adjourning  now  to  one  of  the  more 
remote  apartments,  there  would  follow  worship  of 
Maitreya  Buddha,  accompanied  by  the  recital  of  some 
sfitra  ;  after  which  soporific  incense  would  be  lighted, 


LAN  TING-YUAN  399 

and  the  victims  be  thrown  into  a  deep  sleep.  This 
soporific,  or  'soul  confuser,'  as  it  is  otherwise  called, 
makes  people  feel  tired  and  sleepy ;  they  are  recovered 
by  means  of  a  charm  and  a  draught  of  cold  water.  The 
promised  heirs  and  the  interviews  with  deceased  hus- 
bands are  all  supposed  to  be  brought  about  during 
the  period  of  trance — for  which  scandalous  impostures 
the  heads  of  these  villains  hung  up  in  the  streets  were 
scarcely  a  sufficient  punishment.  However,  reflecting 
that  it  would  be  a  great  grievance  to  the  people  were 
any  of  them  to  find  themselves  mixed  up  in  such  a 
case  just  after  a  bad  harvest,  and  also  that  among 
the  large  number  who  had  become  affiliated  to  this 
society  there  would  be  found  many  old  and  respectable 
families,  I  determined  on  a  plan  which  would  put  an  end 
to  the  affair  without  any  troublesome  esclandre.  I  burnt 
all  the  depositions  in  which  names  were  given,  and  took 
no  further  steps  against  the  persons  named.  I  ordered 
the  goddess  and  her  paramour  to  receive  their  full 
complement  of  blows  (viz.,  one  hundred),  and  to  be 
punished  with  the  heavy  cangue ;  and,  placing  them  at 
the  yamen  gate,  I  let  the  people  rail  and  curse  at  them, 
tear  their  flesh  and  break  their  heads,  until  they  passed 
together  into  their  boasted  Paradise.  The  husband  and 
some  ten  others  of  the  gang  were  placed  in  the  cangue, 
bambooed,  or  punished  in  some  way  ;  and  as  for  the 
rest,  they  were  allowed  to  escape  with  this  one  more 
chance  to  turn  over  a  new  leaf.  I  confiscated  the  build- 
ing, destroyed  its  disgraceful  hiding-places,  changed  the 
whole  appearance  of  the  place,  and  made  it  into  a 
literary  institution  to  be  dedicated  to  five  famous  heroes 
of  literature.  I  cleansed  and  purified  it  from  all  taint, 
and  on  the  ist  and  I5th  of  each  moon  I  would,  when  at 


400  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

leisure,  indulge  with  the  scholars  of  the  district  in  literary 
recreations.  I  formed,  in  fact,  a  literary  club ;  and, 
leasing  a  plot  of  ground  for  cultivation,  devoted  the 
returns  therefrom  to  the  annual  Confucian  demonstra- 
tions and  to  the  payment  of  a  regular  professor.  Thus 
the  true  doctrine  was  caused  to  flourish,  and  these 
supernatural  doings  to  disappear  from  the  scene  ;  the 
public  tone  was  elevated,  and  the  morality  of  the  place 
vastly  improved. 

"When  the  Brigadier-General  and  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor  heard  what  had  been  done,  they  very  much 
commended  my  action,  saying:  '  Had  this  sect  not  been 
rooted  out,  the  evil  results  would  have  been  dire  indeed ; 
and  had  you  reported  the  case  in  the  usual  way,  praying 
for  the  execution  of  these  criminals,  your  merit  would 
undoubtedly  have  been  great ;  but  now,  without  selfish 
regard  to  your  own  interests,  you  have  shown  yourself 
unwilling  to  hunt  down  more  victims  than  necessary,  or 
to  expose  those  doings  in  such  a  manner  as  to  lead  to 
the  suicide  of  the  persons  implicated.  Such  care  for 
the  fair  fame  of  so  many  people  is  deserving  of  all 
praise.'" 

Although  not  yet  of  the  same  national  importance  as 
at  the  present  day,  it  was  still  impossible  that  the  foreign 
question  should  have  escaped  the  notice  of  such  an 
observant  man  as  Lan  Ting-yuan.  He  flourished  at  a 
time  when  the  spread  of  the  Roman  Catholic  religion 
was  giving  just  grounds  for  apprehension  to  thoughtful 
Chinese  statesmen.  Accordingly,  we  find  amongst  his 
collected  works  two  short  notices  devoted  to  a  considera- 
tion of  trade  and  general  intercourse  with  the  various 
nations  of  barbarians.  They  are  interesting  as  the  un- 
trammelled views  of  the  greatest  living  Chinese  scholar 


LAN  TING-YUAN  401 

of  the  date  at  which  they  were  written,  namely,  in  1732. 
The  following  is  one  of  these  notices  :— 

"  To  allow  the  barbarians  to  settle  at  Canton  was  a 
mistake.  Ever  since  Macao  was  given  over,  in  the  reign 
of  Chia  Ching  (1522-1567)  of  the  Ming  dynasty,  to  the 
red-haired  barbarians,  all  manner  of  nations  have  con- 
tinued without  ceasing  to  flock  thither.  They  build 
forts  and  fortifications  and  dense  settlements  of  houses. 
Their  descendants  will  overshadow  the  land,  and  all  the 
country  beyond  Hsiang-shan  will  become  a  kingdom 
of  devils.  '  Red-haired '  is  a  general  term  for  the  bar- 
barians of  the  western  islands.  Amongst  them  there  are 
the  Dutch,  French,  Spaniards,  Portuguese,  English,  and 
Yii-su-la  [?  Islam],  all  of  which  nations  are  horribly 
fierce.  Wherever  they  go  they  spy  around  with  a  view 
to  seize  on  other  people's  territory.  There  was  Singa- 
pore, which  was  originally  a  Malay  country ;  the  red- 
haired  barbarians  went  there  to  trade,  and  by  and  by 
seized  it  for  an  emporium  of  their  own.  So  with  the 
Philippines,  which  were  colonised  by  the  Malays  ; 
because  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  was  practised 
there,  the  Western  foreigners  appropriated  it  in  like 
manner  for  their  own.  The  Catholic  religion  is  now 
spreading  over  China.  In  Hupeh,  Hunan,  Honan, 
Kiangsi,  Fuhkien,  and  Kuangsi,  there  are  very  few 
places  whither  it  has  not  reached.  In  the  first  year 
of  the  Emperor  Yung  Cheng  [1736],  the  Viceroy  of 
Fuhkien,  Man  Pao,  complained  that  the  Western 
foreigners  were  preaching  their  religion  and  tamper- 
ing with  the  people,  to  the  great  detriment  of  the 
localities  in  question  ;  and  he  petitioned  that  the 
Roman  Catholic  chapels  in  the  various  provinces 
might  be  turned  into  lecture-rooms  and  schools,  and 


402  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

that  all  Western  foreigners  might  be  sent  to  Macao,  to 
wait  until  an  opportunity  should  present  itself  of  send- 
ing them  back  to  their  own  countries.  However,  the 
Viceroy  of  Kuangtung,  out  of  mistaken  kindness,  memo- 
rialised the  Throne  that  such  of  the  barbarians  as  were 
old  or  sick  and  unwilling  to  go  away  might  be  per- 
mitted to  remain  in  the  Roman  Catholic  establishment 
at  Canton,  on  the  condition  that  if  they  proselytised, 
spread  their  creed,  or  chaunted  their  sacred  books, 
they  were  at  once  to  be  punished  and  sent  away.  The 
scheme  was  an  excellent  one,  but  what  were  the  results 
of  it  ?  At  present  more  than  10,000  men  have  joined 
the  Catholic  chapel  at  Canton,  and  there  is  also  a 
department  for  women,  where  they  have  similarly  got 
together  about  2000.  This  is  a  great  insult  to  China, 
and  seriously  injures  our  national  traditions,  enough 
to  make  every  man  of  feeling  grind  his  teeth  with  rage. 
The  case  by  no  means  admits  of  '  teaching  before 
punishing.' 

"  Now  these  traders  come  this  immense  distance  with 
the  object  of  making  money.  What  then  is  their  idea  in 
paying  away  vast  sums  in  order  to  attract  people  to 
their  faith  ?  Thousands  upon  thousands  they  get  to 
join  them,  not  being  satisfied  until  they  have  bought  up 
the  whole  province.  Is  it  possible  to  shut  one's  eyes 
and  stop  one's  ears,  pretending  to  know  nothing  about 
it  and  making  no  inquiries  whatever  ?  There  is  an .  old 
saying  among  the  people — '  Take  things  in  time.  A 
little  stream,  if  not  stopped,  may  become  a  great  river.' 
How  much  more  precaution  is  needed,  then,  when  there 
is  a  general  inundation  and  men's  hearts  are  restless  and 
disturbed  ?  In  Canton  the  converts  to  Catholicism  are 
very  numerous  ;  those  in  Macao  are  in  an  inexpugnable 


LAN  TING-YtJAN  403 

fortress.  There  is  a  constant  interchange  of  arms 
between  the  two,  and  if  any  trouble  like  that  of  the 
Philippines  or  Singapore  should  arise,  I  cannot  say 
how  we  should  meet  it.  At  the  present  moment,  with 
a  pattern  of  Imperial  virtue  on  the  Throne,  whose 
power  and  majesty  have  penetrated  into  the  most 
distant  regions,  this  foolish  design  of  the  barbarians 
should  on  no  account  be  tolerated.  Wise  men  will 
do  well  to  be  prepared  against  the  day  when  it  may 
be  necessary  for  us  to  retire  before  them,  clearing  the 
country  as  we  go." 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter  to  a  friend  was 
written  by  Lan  Ting-yuan  in  1724,  and  proves  that  if 
he  objected  to  Christianity,  he  was  not  one  whit  more 
inclined  to  tolerate  Buddhism  : — 

"  Of  all  the  eighteen  provinces,  Chehkiang  is  the  one 
where  Buddhist  priests  and  nuns  most  abound.  In  the 
three  prefectures  of  Hangchow,  Chia-hsing,  and  Huchow 
there  cannot  be  fewer  than  several  tens  of  thousands  of 
them,  of  whom,  by  the  way,  not  more  than  one-tenth 
have  willingly  taken  the  vows.  The  others  have  been 
given  to  the  priests  when  quite  little,  either  because 
their  parents  were  too  poor  to  keep  them,  or  in  return 
for  some  act  of  kindness  ;  and  when  the  children  grow 
up,  they  are  unable  to  get  free.  Buddhist  nuns  are  also 
in  most  cases  bought  up  when  children  as  a  means  of 
making  a  more  extensive  show  of  religion,  and  are  care- 
fully prevented  from  running  away.  They  are  not  given 
in  marriage — the  desire  for  which  is  more  or  less  im- 
planted in  every  human  breast,  and  exists  even  amongst 
prophets  and  sages.  And  thus  to  condemn  thousands 
and  ten  thousands  of  human  beings  to  the  dull  mono- 
tony of  the  cloister,  granting  that  they  strictly  keep  their 


404  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

religious  vows,  is  more  than  sufficient  to  seriously  in- 
terfere with  the  equilibrium  of  the  universe.  Hence 
floods,  famines,  and  the  like  catastrophes ;  to  say 
nothing  of  the  misdeeds  of  the  nuns  in  question. 

"  When  I  passed  through  Soochow  and  Hangchow  1 
saw  many  disgraceful  advertisements  that  quite  took  my 
breath  away  with  their  barefaced  depravity ;  and  the 
people  there  told  me  that  these  atrocities  were  much 
practised  by  the  denizens  of  the  cloister,  which  term  is 
simply  another  name  for  houses  of  ill-fame.  These 
cloister  folk  do  a  great  deal  of  mischief  amongst  the 
populace,  wasting  the  substance  of  some,  and  robbing 
others  of  their  good  name." 

The  Ming  Chi  Kang  Mu,  or  History  of  the  Ming 
Dynasty,  which  had  been  begun  in  1689  by  a  commission 
of  fifty-eight  scholars,  was  laid  before  the  Emperor  only 
in  1742  by  CHANG  T'ING-YU  (1670-1756),  a  Minister 
of  State  and  a  most  learned  writer,  joint  editor  of  the 
Book  of  Rites,  Ritual  of  the  Chou  Dynasty,  the  Thir- 
teen Classics,  the  Twenty-four  Histories,  Thesaurus  of 
Phraseology,  Encyclopaedia  of  Quotations,  the  Con- 
cordance to  Literature,  &c.  This  work,  however,  did 
not  meet  with  the  Imperial  approval,  and  for  it  was 
substituted  the  Tung  Chien  Kang  Mu  San  Pien,  first 
published  in  1775.  Among  the  chief  collaborators  of 
Chang  T'ing-yii  should  be  mentioned  O-ERH-T'AI,  the 
Mongol  (d.  1745),  and  CHU  SHIH  (1666-1736),  both  of 
whom  were  also  voluminous  contributors  to  classical 
literature. 

These  were  followed  by  CH'EN  HUNG-MOU  (1695-1771), 
who,  besides  being  the  author  of  brilliant  State  papers, 


Yt)AN  MEI  405 

was  a  commentator  on  the  Classics,  dealing  especially 
with  the  Four  Books,  a  writer  on  miscellaneous  topics, 
and  a  most  successful  administrator.  He  rose  to  high 
office,  and  was  noted  for  always  having  his  room  hung 
round  with  maps  of  the  province  in  which  he  was 
serving,  so  that  he  might  become  thoroughly  familiar 
with  its  geography.  He  was  dismissed,  however,  from 
the  important  post  of  Viceroy  of  the  Two  Kuang  for 
alleged  incapacity  in  dealing  with  a  plague  of  locusts. 

YUAN  MEI  (1715-1797)  is  beyond  all  question  the  most 
popular  writer  of  modern  times.  At  the  early  age  of 
nine  he  was  inspired  with  a  deep  love  for  poetry,  and 
soon  became  an  adept  at  the  art.  Graduating  in  1739, 
he  was  shortly  afterwards  sent  to  Kiangnan,  and 
presently  became  magistrate  at  Nanking,  where  he 
greatly  distinguished  himself  by  the  vigour  and  justice 
of  his  administration.  A  serious  illness  kept  him  for 
some  time  unemployed  ;  and  when  on  recovery  he  was 
sent  into  Shansi,  he  managed  to  quarrel  with  the  Viceroy. 
At  the  early  age  of  forty  he  retired  from  the  official 
arena  and  led  a  life  of  lettered  ease  in  his  beautiful 
garden  at  Nanking.  His  letters,  which  have  been 
published  under  the  title  of  Hsiao  Tsang  Shan  Fang 
Ctiih  Tu,  are  extremely  witty  and  amusing,  and  at  the 
same  time  are  models  of  style.  Many  of  the  best  are  a 
trifle  coarse,  sufficiently  so  to  rank  them  with  some  of  the 
eighteenth-century  literature  on  this  side  of  the  globe  ; 
the  salt  of  all  loses  its  savour  in  translation.  The 
following  are  specimens  : — 

"  I  have  received  your  letter  congratulating  me  on  my 
present  prosperity,  and  am  very  much  obliged  for  the 
same. 


406  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

"  At  the  end  of  the  letter,  however,  you  mention  that 
you  have  a  tobacco-pouch  for  me,  which  shall  be  sent  on 
as  soon  as  I  forward  you  a  stanza.  Surely  this  reminds 
one  of  the  evil  days  of  the  Chous  and  the  Chengs,  when 
each  State  took  pledges  from  the  other.  It  certainly  is 
not  in  keeping  with  the  teaching  of  the  sages,  viz.,  that 
friends  should  be  the  first  to  give.  Why  then  do  you 
neglect  that  teaching  for  the  custom  of  a  degraded  age  ? 

"  If  for  a  tobacco-pouch  you  insist  upon  having  a 
stanza,  for  a  hat  or  a  pair  of  boots  you  would  wani 
at  least  a  poem  ;  while  your  brother  might  send  me  ? 
cloak  or  a  coat,  and  expect  to  get  a  whole  epic  in  return  ! 
In  this  way,  the  prosperity  on  which  you  congratulate  me 
would  not  count  for  much. 

"  Shun  Yii-t'an  of  old  sacrificed  a  bowl  of  rice  and 
a  perch  to  get  a  hundred  waggons  full  of  grain  ;  he 
offered  little  and  he  wanted  much.  And  have  you  not 
heard  how  a  thousand  pieces  of  silk  were  given  for  a 
single  word  ?  two  beautiful  girls  for  a  stanza  ? — compared 
with  which  your  tobacco-pouch  seems  small  indeed.  It 
is  probably  because  you  are  a  military  man,  accustomed 
to  drill  soldiers  and  to  reward  them  with  a  silver  medal 
when  they  hit  the  mark,  that  you  have  at  last  come  to 
regard  this  as  the  proper  treatment  of  an  old  friend. 

"  Did  not  Mencius  forbid  us  to  presume  upon  any- 
thing adventitious  ?  And  if  friends  may  not  presume 
upon  their  worth  or  position,  how  much  less  upon  a 
tobacco-pouch  ?  For  a  tobacco-pouch,  pretty  as  it  may 
be,  is  but  the  handiwork  of  a  waiting-maid  ;  while  my 
verses,  poor  as  they  may  be,  are  the  outcome  of  my 
intellectual  powers.  So  that  to  exchange  the  work  of  a 
waiting-maid's  fingers  for  the  work  of  my  brain,  is  a 
great  compliment  to  the  waiting-maid,  but  a  small  one  to 


YUAN  MEI  407 

me.  Not  so  if  you  yourself  had  cast  away  spear  and 
sword,  and  grasping  the  needle  and  silk,  had  turned  me 
out  a  tobacco-pouch  of  your  own  working.  Then,  had 
you  asked  me  even  for  ten  stanzas,  I  would  freely  have 
given  them.  But  a  great  general  knows  his  own  strength 
as  well  as  the  enemy's,  and  it  would  hardly  be  proper  for 
me  to  lure  you  from  men's  to  women's  work,  and  place 
on  your  head  a  ribboned  cap.  How  then  do  you  ven- 
ture to  treat  me  as  Ts'ao  Ts  ao  [on  his  death-bed  treated 
his  concubines],  by  bestowing  on  me  an  insignificant 
tobacco-pouch  ? 

"  Having  nothing  better  to  do,  I  have  amused  myself 
with  these  few  lines  at  your  expense.  If  you  take  them 
ill,  of  course  I  shall  never  get  the  pouch.  But  if  you 
can  mend  your  evil  ways,  then  hurry  up  with  the 
tobacco-pouch  and  trust  to  your  luck  for  the  verse." 

A  friend  had  sent  Yuan  Mei  a  letter  with  the  very  un- 
Chinese  present  of  a  crab  and  a  duck.  Two  ducks  and 
a  crab  would  have  been  more  conventional,  or  even  two 
crabs  and  a  duck.  And  by  some  mistake  or  other,  the 
crab  arrived  by  itself.  Hence  the  following  banter  in 
reply  : — 

"To  convey  a  man  to  a  crab  is  very  pleasant  for  the 
man,  but  to  convey  a  crab  to  a  man  is  pleasant  for  his 
whole  family.  And  I  know  that  this  night  my  two  sons 
will  often  bend  their  arms  like  crabs'  claws  [i.e.  in  the 
form  of  the  Chinese  salute],  wishing  you  an  early  success 
in  life. 

"  In  rhyme  no  duplicates  [that  is,  don't  rhyme  again 
the  same  sound],  and  don't  use  two  sentences  where 
one  will  do  [in  composition].  Besides  which,  the  fact 
that  the  duck  has  not  yet  turned  up  shows  that  you 
understand  well  how  to  '  do  one  thing  at  a  time.'  Not 


408  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

to  mention  that  you  cause  an  old  gobbler  like  myself  to 
stretch  out  his  neck  in  anticipation  of  something  else  to 
come. 

"You  remember  how  the  poet  Sh£n  beat  his  rival, 
all  because  of  that  one  verse — 

'  Sigh  not  for  the  sinking  moon, 
The  jewel  lamp  will  follow  soon.' 

Well,  your  crab  is  like  the  sinking  moon,  while  the  duck 
reminds  me  of  the  jewel  lamp  ;  from  which  we  may 
infer  that  you  will  meet  with  the  same  good  luck  as 
Shen. 

"  Again,  a  crab,  even  in  the  presence  of  the  King  of 
the  Ocean,  has  to  travel  aslant ;  by  which  same  token  I 
trust  that  by  and  by  your  fame  will  travel  aslant  the 
habitable  globe." 

Yuan  Mei's  poetry  is  much  admired  and  widely  read. 
He  is  one  of  the  few,  very  few,  poets  who  have  flourished 
under  Manchu  rule.  Here  are  some  sarcastic  lines  by 
him  : — 

"  Pve  ever  thought  it  passing  odd 
How  all  men  reverence  some  God, 
And  wear  their  lives  out  for  his  sake 
And  bow  their  heads  until  they  ache. 
'  Tis  clear  to  me  the  Gods  are  made 
Of  the  same  stuff  as  wind  or  shade.  .  .  . 
Ah  !  if  they  came  to  every  caller, 
Fd  be  the  very  loudest  bawlerV 

He  could  be  pathetic  enough  at  times,  as  he  showed 
in  his  elegy  on  a  little  five-year-old  daughter,  recalling 
her  baby  efforts  with  the  paint-brush,  and  telling  how 
she  cut  out  clothes  from  paper,  or  sat  and  watched  her 
father  engaged  in  composition.  He  was  also,  like  all 
Chinese  poets,  an  ardent  lover  of  nature,  and  a  winter 
plum-tree  in  flower,  or  a  gust  of  wind  scattering  dead 


YUAN  MEI  409 

leaves,  would  set  all  his  poetic  fibres  thrilling  again. 
It  sounds  like  an  anti-climax  to  add  that  this  brilliant 
essayist,  letter-writer,  and  composer  of  finished  verse 
owes  perhaps  the  chief  part  of  his  fame  to  a  cookery- 
book.  Yet  such  is  actually  the  case.  Yuan  Mei  was  the 
Brillat-Savarin  of  China,  and  in  the  art  of  cooking  China 
stands  next  to  France.  His  cookery-book  is  a  gossipy 
little  work,  written,  as  only  such  a  scholar  could  write 
it,  in  a  style  which  at  once  invests  the  subject  with 
dignity  and  interest. 

"  Everything,"  says  Yuan  Mei,  in  his  opening  chapter, 
"  has  its  own  original  constitution,  just  as  each  man 
has  certain  natural  characteristics.  If  a  man's  natural 
abilities  are  of  a  low  order,  Confucius  and  Mencius 
themselves  would  teach  him  to  no  purpose.  And  if  an 
article  of  food  is  in  itself  bad,  not  even  I-ya  [the  Soyer 
of  China]  could  cook  a  flavour  into  it. 

"  A  ham  is  a  ham  ;  but  in  point  of  goodness  two  hams 
will  be  as  widely  separated  as  sky  and  sea.  A  mackerel 
is  a  mackerel ;  but  in  point  of  excellence  two  mackerel 
will  differ  as  much  as  ice  and  live  coals.  And  other 
things  in  the  same  way.  So  that  the  credit  of  a  good 
dinner  should  be  divided  between  the  cook  and  the 
steward — forty  per  cent,  to  the  steward,  and  sixty  per 
cent,  to  the  cook. 

"  Cookery  is  like  matrimony.  Two  things  served  to- 
gether should  match.  Clear  should  go  with  clear,  thick 
with  thick,  hard  with  hard,  and  soft  with  soft.  I  have 
known  people  mix  grated  lobster  with  birds'-nests,  and 
mint  with  chicken  or  pork  ! 

"  The  cooks  of  to-day  think  nothing  of  mixing  in  one 
soup  the  meat  of  chicken,  duck,  pig,  and  goose.  But 
these  chickens,  ducks,  pigs,  and  geese  have  doubtless 


410  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

souls.  And  these  souls  will  most  certainly  file  plaints  in 
the  next  world  on  the  way  they  have  been  treated  in 
this.  A  good  cook  will  use  plenty  of  different  dishes. 
Each  article  of  food  will  be  made  to  exhibit  its  own 
characteristics,  while  each  made  dish  will  be  character- 
ised by  one  dominant  flavour.  Then  the  palate  of  the 
gourmand  will  respond  without  fail,  and  the  flowers  of 
the  soul  blossom  forth. 

"  Let  salt  fish  come  first,  and  afterwards  food  of  more 
negative  flavour.  Let  the  heavy  precede  the  light.  Let 
dry  dishes  precede  those  with  gravy.  No  flavour  must 
dominate.  If  a  guest  eats  his  fill  of  savouries,  his 
stomach  will  be  fatigued.  Salt  flavours  must  be  relieved 
by  bitter  or  hot  tasting  foods,  in  order  to  restore  the 
palate.  Too  much  wine  will  make  the  stomach  dull. 
Sour  or  sweet  food  will  be  required  to  rouse  it  again 
into  vigour. 

"  In  winter  we  should  eat  beef  and  mutton.  In  sum- 
mer, dried  and  preserved  meats.  As  for  condiments, 
mustard  belongs  specially  to  summer,  pepper  to  winter. 

"  Don't  cut  bamboo-shoots  [the  Chinese  equivalent  of 
asparagus]  with  an  oniony  knife.  ...  A  good  cook  fre- 
quently wipes  his  knife,  frequently  changes  his  cloth, 
frequently  scrapes  his  board,  and  frequently  washes  his 
hands.  If  smoke  or  ashes  from  his  pipe,  perspiration- 
drops  from  his  head,  insects  from  the  wall,  or  smuts 
from  the  saucepan  get  mixed  up  with  the  food,  though 
he  were  a  very  chef  among  chefs,  yet  would  men  hold 
their  noses  and  decline. 

"  Don't  make  your  thick  sauces  greasy  nor  your  clear 
ones  tasteless.  Those  who  want  grease  can  eat  fat 
pork,  while  a  drink  of  water  is  better  than  something 
which  tastes  of  nothing  at  all.  .  .  .  Don't  over-salt  your 


YUAN   MEI  411 

soups  ;  for  salt  can  be  added  to  taste,  but  can  never  be 
taken  away. 

"  Don't  eat  with  your  ears ;  by  which  I  mean  do  not 
aim  at  having  extraordinary  out-of-the-way  foods,  just 
to  astonish  your  guests ;  for  that  is  to  eat  with  your 
ears,  not  with  the  mouth.  Bean-curd,  if  good,  is  actually 
nicer  than  birds'-nest ;  and  better  than  sea-slugs,  which 
are  not  first-rate,  is  a  dish  of  bamboo  shoots.  .  .  . 

"The  chicken,  the  pig,  the  fish,  and  the  duck,  these 
are  the  four  heroes  of  the  table.  Sea-slugs  and  birds' - 
nests  have  no  characteristic  flavours  of  their  own.  They 
are  but  usurpers  in  the  house.  I  once  dined  with  a 
friend  who  gave  us  birds'-nest  in  bowls  more  like  vats, 
holding  each  about  four  ounces  of  the  plain-boiled 
article.  The  other  guests  applauded  vigorously  ;  but  I 
smiled  and  said,  '/  came  here  to  eat  birds' -nest,  not  to  take 
delivery  of  it  wholesale' 

"  Don't  eat  with  your  eyes ;  by  which  I  mean  do  not 
cover  the  table  with  innumerable  dishes  and  multiply 
courses  indefinitely.  For  this  is  to  eat  with  the  eyes, 
and  not  with  the  mouth. 

"Just  as  a  calligraphist  should  not  overtire  his  hand 
nor  a  poet  his  brain,  so  a  good  cook  cannot  possibly 
turn  out  in  one  day  more  than  four  or  five  distinct  plats. 
I  used  to  dine  with  a  merchant  friend  who  would  put  on 
no  less  than  three  removes  [sets  of  eight  dishes  served 
separately],  and  sixteen  kinds  of  sweets,  so  that  by  the 
time  we  had  finished  we  had  got  through  a  total  of  some 
forty  courses.  My  host  gloried  in  all  this,  but  when  I 
got  home  I  used  to  have  a  bowl  of  rice-gruel.  I  felt  so 
hungry. 

"  To  know  right  from  wrong,  a  man  must  be  sober. 
And  only  a  sober  man  can  distinguish  good  flavours  from 


412  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

bad.  It  has  been  well  said  that  words  are  inadequate  to 
describe  the  nuances  of  taste.  How  much  less  then  must 
a  stuttering  sot  be  able  to  appreciate  them  ! 

"  I  have  often  seen  votaries  of  guess-fingers  swallow 
choice  food  as  though  so  much  sawdust,  their  minds 
being  preoccupied  with  their  game.  Now  I  say  eat  first 
and  drink  afterwards.  By  these  means  the  result  will 
be  successful  in  each  direction." 

Yuan  Mei  also  protests  against  the  troublesome  custom 
of  pressing  guests  to  eat,  and  against  the  more  foolish 
one  of  piling  up  choice  pieces  on  the  little  saucers  used 
as  plates,  and  even  putting  them  into  the  guests'  mouths, 
as  if  they  were  children  or  brides,  too  shy  to  help 
themselves. 

There  was  a  man  in  Ch'ang-an,  he  tells  us,  who  was 
very  fond  of  giving  dinners  ;  but  the  food  was  atrocious. 
One  day  a  guest  threw  himself  on  his  knees  in  front  of 
this  gentleman  and  said,  "Am  I  not  a  friend  of  yours  ?" 

"  You  are  indeed,"  replied  his  host. 

"Then  I  must  ask  of  you  a  favour,"  said  the  guest, 
"  and  you  must  grant  it  before  I  rise  from  my  knees." 

"Well,  what  is  it?"  inquired  his  host  in  astonishment. 

"Never  to  invite  me  to  dinner  any  more  !"  cried  the 
guest ;  at  which  the  whole  party  burst  into  a  loud  roar 
of  laughter. 

"  Into  no  department  of  life,"  says  Yuan  Mei,  "should 
indifference  be  allowed  to  creep  ;  into  none  less  than 
into  the  domain  of  cookery.  Cooks  are  but  mean 
fellows  ;  and  if  a  day  is  passed  without  either  reward- 
ing or  punishing  them,  that  day  is  surely  marked  by 
negligence  or  carelessness  on  their  part.  If  badly 
cooked  food  is  swallowed  in  silence,  such  neglect  will 
speedily  become  a  habit.  Still,  mere  rewards  and 


CH'£N  HAO-TZO  413 

punishments  are  of  no  use.  If  a  dish  is  good,  attention 
should  be  called  to  the  why  and  the  wherefore.  If 
bad,  an  effort  should  be  made  to  discover  the  cause  of 
the  failure. 

"  I  am  not  much  of  a  wine-drinker,  but  this  makes 
me  all  the  more  particular.  Wine  is  like  scholarship : 
it  ripens  with  age  ;  and  it  is  best  from  a  fresh-opened 
jar.  The  top  of  the  wine-jar,  the  bottom  of  the  teapot, 
as  the  saying  has  it." 

In  1783  CH'£N  HAO-TZO,  who  lived  beside  the  Western 
Lake  at  Hangchow,  and  called  himself  the  Flower 
Hermit,  published  a  gossipy  little  work  on  gardening 
and  country  pursuits,  under  the  title  of  "The  Mirror  of 
Flowers."  It  is  the  type  of  a  class  often  to  be  seen  in 
the  hands  of  Chinese  readers.  The  preface  was  written 
by  himself : — 

"  From  my  youth  upwards  I  have  cared  for  nothing 
save  books  and  flowers.  Twenty-eight  thousand  days 
have  passed  over  my  head,  the  greater  part  of  which  has 
been  spent  in  poring  over  old  records,  and  the  re- 
mainder in  enjoying  myself  in  my  garden  among  plants 
and  birds." 

The  Chinese  excel  in  horticulture,  and  the  passionate 
love  of  flowers  which  prevails  among  all  classes  is  quite 
a  national  characteristic.  A  Chinaman,  however,  has  his 
own  particular  standpoint.  The  vulgar  nosegay  or  the 
plutocratic  bouquet  would  have  no  charms  for  him.  He 
can  see,  with  satisfaction,  only  one  flower  at  a  time. 
His  best  vases  are  made  to  hold  a  single  spray,  and 
large  vases  usually  have  covers  perforated  so  as  to 
isolate  each  specimen.  A  primrose  by  the  river's  brim 
would  be  to  him  a  complete  poem.  If  condemned  to  a 


414  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

sedentary  life,  he  likes  to  have  a  flower  by  his  side  on 
the  table.  He  draws  enjoyment,  even  inspiration,  from 
its  petals.  He  will  take  a  flower  out  for  a  walk,  and 
stop  every  now  and  again  to  consider  the  loveliness  of 
its  growth.  So  with  birds.  It  is  a  common  thing  on  a 
pleasant  evening  to  meet  a  Chinaman  carrying  his  bird- 
cage suspended  from  the  end  of  a  short  stick.  He  will 
stop  at  some  pleasant  corner  outside  the  town,  and  listen 
with  rapture  to  the  bird's  song.  But  to  the  preface. 
Our  author  goes  on  to  say  that  in  his  hollow  bamboo 
pillow  he  always  keeps  some  work  on  his  favourite 
subject. 

"  People  laugh  at  me,  and  say  that  I  am  cracked  on 
flowers  and  a  bibliomaniac  ;  but  surely  study  is  the 
proper  occupation  of  a  literary  man,  and  as  for  garden- 
ing, that  is  simply  a  rest  for  my  brain  and  a  relaxation 
in  my  declining  years.  What  does  T'ao  Ch'ien  say  ? — 

'  Riches  and  rank  I  do  not  love, 

I  have  no  hopes  of  heaven  above?  .  .  . 

Besides,  it  is  only  in  hours  of  leisure  that  I  devote  myself 
to  the  cultivation  of  flowers." 

Ch'en  Hao-tzu  then  runs  through  the  four  seasons, 
showing  how  each  has  its  especial  charm,  contributing 
to  the  sum  of  those  pure  pleasures  which  are  the  best 
antidote  against  the  ills  of  old  age.  He  then  proceeds  to 
deal  with  times  and  seasons,  showing  wha*  to  do  under 
each  month,  precisely  as  our  own  garden-books  do. 
After  that  come  short  chapters  on  all  the  chief  trees, 
shrubs,  and  plants  of  China,  with  hints  how  to  treat 
them  under  diverse  circumstances,  the  whole  concluding 
with  a  separate  section  devoted  to  birds,  animals,  fishes, 
and  insects.  Among  these  are  to  be  found  the  crane, 


CHAO  I  415 

peacock,  parrot,  thrush,  kite,  quail,  mainah,  swallow, 
deer,  hare,  monkey,  dog,  cat,  squirrel,  goldfish — first 
mentioned  by  Su  Shih, 

"  Upon  the  bridge  the  li-velong  day 
I  stand  and  watch  the  goldfish  play  " — 

bee,  butterfly,  glowworm,  &c.  Altogether  there  is  much 
to  be  learnt  from  this  Chinese  White  of  Selborne,  and 
the  reader  lays  down  the  book  feeling  that  the  writer 
is  not  far  astray  when  he  says,  "  If  a  home  has  not  a 
garden  and  an  old  tree,  I  see  not  whence  the  everyday 
joys  of  life  are  to  come." 

CHAO  I  (1727-1814)  is  said  to  have  known  several  tens 
of  characters  when  only  three  years  old, — the  age  at 
which  John  Stuart  Mill  believed  that  he  began  Greek. 
It  was  not,  however,  until  1761  that  he  took  his  final 
degree,  appearing  second  on  the  list.  He  was  really  first, 
but  the  Emperor  put  Wang  Chieh  over  his  head,  in 
order  to  encourage  men  from  Shensi,  to  which  province 
the  latter  belonged.  That  Wang  Chieh  is  remembered 
at  all  must  be  set  down  to  the  above  episode,  and  not  to 
the  two  volumes  of  essays  which  he  left  behind  him. 
Chao  I  wrote  a  history  of  the  wars  of  the  present 
dynasty,  a  collection  of  notes  on  the  current  topics  of  his 
day,  historical  critiques,  and  other  works.  He  was  also 
a  poet,  contributing  a  large  volume  of  verse,  from  which 
the  following  sample  of  his  art  is  taken  : — 

"  Man  is  indeed  of  heavenly  birth, 
Though  seeming  earthy  of  the  earth; 
The  sky  in  but  a  denser  pall 
Of  the  thin  air  tliat  covers  all. 
Just  as  this  air,  so  is  that  sky; 
Why  call  this  low,  and  call  that  high  ? 


416  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

"  The  dewdrop  sparkles  in  the  cup — 
Note  how  the  eager  flowers  spring  u£j 
Confine  and  crib  them  in  a  room, 
They  fade  and  find  an  early  doom. 
So  "'tis  that  at  our  very  feet 
The  earth  and  the  empyrean  meet. 

**  The  babe  at  birth  points  heavenward  /<?<?, 
Enveloped  by  the  eternal  blue ; 
As  fishes  in  the  water  bide, 
So  heaven  surrounds  on  every  side; 
Yet  men  sin  on,  because  they  say 
Great  God  in  heaven  is  far  away." 

The  "stop  short"  was  a  great  favourite  with  him. 
His  level  may  be  gauged  by  the  following  specimen, 
written  as  he  was  setting  out  to  a  distant  post  in  the 
north  : — 

"  See  where,  like  specks  of  spring-cloud  in  the  sky, 
On  their  long  northern  route  the  wild  geese  fly  ; 
Together  der  the  River  we  will  roam.  .  .  . 
Ah!  they  go  towards,  and  I  away  from  home  I " 

Here  is  another  in  a  more  humorous  vein  : — 

"  The  rain  had  been  raining  the  whole  of  the  day, 
And  I  had  been  straining  and  working  away.  .  .  . 
Whafs  the  trouble,  O  cook  ?     You've  no  millet  in  store  ? 
Well,  I've  written  a  book  which  will  buy  us  some  more" 

Taken  altogether,  the  poetry  of  the  present  dynasty, 
especially  that  of  the  nineteenth  century,  must  be  written 
down  as  nothing  more  than  artificial  verse,  with  the  art 
not  even  concealed,  but  grossly  patent  to  the  dullest 
observer.  A  collection  of  extracts  from  about  2000 
representative  poets  was  published  in  1857,  but  it  is  very 
dull  reading,  any  thoughts,  save  the  most  commonplace, 
being  few  and  far  between.  As  in  every  similar  collec- 


FANG  WEI-I  417 

tion,  a  place  is  assigned  to  poetesses,  of  whom  FANG  WEI-I 
would  perhaps  be  a  favourable  example.  She  came  from 
a  good  family,  and  was  but  newly  married  to  a  promis- 
ing young  official  when  the  latter  died,  and  left  her  a 
sorrowing  and  childless  widow.  Light  came  to  her  in 
the  darkness,  and  disregarding  the  entreaties  of  her 
father  and  mother,  she  decided  to  become  a  nun,  and 
devote  the  remainder  of  her  life  to  the  service  of  Buddha. 
These  are  her  farewell  lines  : — 

"  'Tis  common  talk  how  partings  sadden  life  : 

There  are  no  partings  for  us  after  death. 
But  let  that  pass  /  7,  now  no  more  a  wife, 
Will  face  fate's  issues  to  my  latest  breath. 

"  The  north  wind  whistles  thro1  the  mulberry  grove. 

Daily  and  nightly  making  moan  for  mej 
I  look  up  to  the  shifting  sky  above, 
No  little  prattler  smiling  on  my  knee. 

"  Life's  sweetest  boon  is  after  all  to  die.  .  .  . 

My  weeping  parents  still  are  loth  to  yield j 
Yet  east  and  west  the  callow  fledglings  fly, 
And  autumn's  herbage  wanders  far  afield. 

"  What  will  life  bring  to  me  an  I  should  stay  f 

What  will  death  bring  to  me  an  I  should  go  ? 
These  thoughts  surge  through  me  in  the  light  of  day ^ 
And  make  me  conscious  that  at  last  I  know" 

One  of  the  greatest  of  the  scholars  of  the  present 
dynasty  was  YUAN  YUAN  (1764-1849).  He  took  his  third 
degree  in  1789,  and  at  the  final  examination  the  aged 
Emperor  Ch'ien  Lung  was  so  struck  with  his  talents  that 
he  exclaimed,  "  Who  would  have  thought  that,  after  pass- 
ing my  eightieth  year,  I  should  find  another  such  man  as 
this  one  ?"  He  then  held  many  high  offices  in  succes- 
sion, including  the  post  of  Governor  of  Chehkiang,  in 


418  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

which  he  operated  vigorously  against  the  Annamese 
pirates  and  Ts'ai  Chien,  established  the  tithing  system, 
colleges,  schools,  and  soup-kitchens,  besides  devoting 
himself  to  the  preservation  of  ancient  monuments.  As 
Viceroy  of  the  Two  Kuang,  he  frequently  came  into 
collision  with  British  interests,  and  did  his  best  to  keep 
a  tight  hand  over  the  barbarian  merchants.  He  was  a 
voluminous  writer  on  the  Classics,  astronomy,  archaeo- 
logy, &c.,  an'd  various  important  collections  were  pro- 
duced under  his  patronage.  Among  these  may  be  men- 
tioned the  Huang  CKing  Ching  Chieh,  containing  upwards 
of  1 80  separate  works,  and  the  CJiou  Jen  Chuan,  a  bio- 
graphical dictionary  of  famous  mathematicians  of  all 
ages,  including  Euclid,  Newton,  and  Ricci,  the  Jesuit 
Father.  He  also  published  a  Topography  of  Kuangtung, 
specimens  of  the  compositions  of  more  than  5000  poets 
of  Kiangsi,  and  a  large  collection  of  inscriptions  on  bells 
and  vases.  He  also  edited  the  Catalogue  of  the  Imperial 
Library,  the  large  encyclopaedia  known  as  the  T'ai  Ping 
Yii  Lan,  and  other  important  works. 

Two  religious  works,  associated  with  the  Taoism  of 
modern  days,  which  have  long  been  popular  throughout 
China,  may  fitly  be  mentioned  here.  They  are  not  to  be 
bought  in  shops,  but  can  always  be  obtained  at  temples, 
where  large  numbers  are  placed  by  philanthropists  for 
distribution  gratis.  The  first  is  the  Kan  Ying  P'ien,  or 
Book  of  Rewards  and  Punishments,  attributed  by  the 
foolish  to  Lao  Tzu  himself.  Its  real  date  is  quite  un- 
known ;  moderate  writers  place  it  in  the  Sung  dynasty, 
but  even  that  seems  far  too  early.  Although  nominally 
of  Taoist  origin,  this  work  is  usually  edited  in  a  very 
pronounced  Buddhist  setting,  the  fact  being  that  Taoism 


THE  KAN  YING  P'lEN  419 

and  Buddhism  are  now  so  mixed  up  that  it  is  impossible 
to  draw  any  sharp  line  of  demarcation  between  the  two. 
As  Chu  Hsi  snys,  "  Buddhism  stole  the  best  features 
of  Taoism,  and  Taoism  stole  the  worst  features  of  Bud- 
dhism ;  it  is  as  though  the  one  stole  a  jewel  from  the 
other,  and  the  loser  recouped  the  loss  with  a  stone." 
Prefixed  to  the  Kan  Ying  Plien  will  be  found  Buddhist 
formulae  for  cleansing  the  mouth  and  body  before 
beginning  to  read  the  text,  and  appeals  to  Maitreya 
Buddha  and  Avalokitesvara.  Married  women  and  girls 
are  advised  not  to  frequent  temples  to  be  a  spectacle  for 
men.  "  If  you  must  worship  Buddha,  worship  the  two 
living  Buddhas  (parents)  you  have  at  home  ;  and  if  you 
must  burn  incense,  burn  it  at  the  family  altar."  We  are 
further  told  that  there  is  no  time  at  which  this  book  may 
not  be  read ;  no  place  in  which  it  may  not  be  read  ;  and 
no  person  by  whom  it  may  not  be  read  with  profit.  We 
are  advised  to  study  it  when  fasting,  and  not  necessarily 
to  shout  it  aloud,  so  as  to  be  heard  of  men,  but  rather  to 
ponder  over  it  in  the  heart.  The  text  consists  of  a  com- 
mination  said  to  have  been  uttered  by  Lao  Tzu,  and 
directed  against  evil-doers  of  all  kinds.  In  the  opening 
paragraphs  attention  is  drawn  to  various  spiritual  beings 
who  note  down  the  good  deeds  and  crimes  of  men, 
and  lengthen  or  shorten  their  lives  accordingly.  Then 
follows  a  long  list  of  wicked  acts  which  will  inevitably 
bring  retribution  in  their  train.  These  include  the  ordi- 
nary offences  recognised  by  moral  codes  all  over  the 
world,  every  form  of  injustice  and  oppression,  falsehood, 
and  theft,  together  with  not  a  few  others  of  a  more 
venial  character  to  Western  minds.  Among  the  latter 
are  birds'-nesting,  stepping  across  food  or  human  beings, 
cooking  with  dirty  firewood,  spitting  at  shooting  stars 


420  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

and  pointing  at  the  rainbow,  or  even  at  the  sun,  moon, 
and  stars.  In  all  these  cases,  periods  will  be  cut  off  from 
the  life  of  the  offender,  and  if  his  life  is  exhausted  while 
any  guilt  still  remains  unexpiated,  the  punishment  due 
will  be  carried  on  to  the  account  of  his  descendants. 

The  second  of  the  two  works  under  consideration  is 
the  Yu  Li  CHao  Chuan,  a  description  of  the  Ten  Courts 
of  Purgatory  in  the  nether  world,  through  some  or  all  of 
which  every  erring  soul  must  pass  before  being  allowed 
to  be  born  again  into  this  world  under  another  form, 
or  to  be  permanently  transferred  to  the  eternal  bliss 
reserved  for  the  righteous  alone. 

In  the  Fifth  Court,  for  instance,  the  sinners  are  hurried 
away  by  bull- headed,  horse-faced  demons  to  a  famous 
terrace,  where  their  physical  punishments  are  aggravated 
by  a  view  of  their  old  homes  : — 

"This  terrace  is  curved  in  front  like  a  bow;  it  looks 
east,  west,  and  south.  It  is  eighty-one  //  from  one 
extreme  to  the  other.  The  back  part  is  like  the  string 
of  a  bow ;  it  is  enclosed  by  a  wall  of  sharp  swords. 
It  is  490  feet  high  ;  its  sides  are  knife-blades ;  and  the 
whole  is  in  sixty-three  storeys.  No  good  shade  comes 
to  this  terrace  ;  neither  do  those  whose  balance  of  good 
and  evil  is  exact.  Wicked  souls  alone  behold  their 
homes  close  by,  and  can  see  and  hear  what  is  going  on. 
They  hear  old  and  young  talking  together ;  they  see 
their  last  wishes  disregarded  and  their  instructions  dis- 
obeyed. Everything  seems  to  have  undergone  a  change. 
The  property  they  scraped  together  with  so  much 
trouble  is  dissipated  and  gone.  The  husband  thinks  of 
taking  another  wife ;  the  widow  meditates  second  nup- 
tials. Strangers  are  in  possession  of  the  old  estate  ;  there 
is  nothing  to  divide  amongst  the  children.  Debts  long 


THE  YU  LI  CH'AO  CHUAN  421 

since  paid  are  brought  again  for  settlement,  and  the 
survivors  are  called  upon  to  acknowledge  claims  upon 
the  departed.  Debts  owed  are  lost  for  want  of  evidence, 
with  endless  recriminations,  abuse,  and  general  con- 
fusion, all  of  which  falls  upon  the  three  families  of  the 
deceased.  They  in  their  anger  speak  ill  of  him  that  is 
gone.  He  sees  his  children  become  corrupt  and  his 
friends  fall  away.  Some,  perhaps,  for  the  sake  of  bygone 
times,  may  stroke  the  coffin  and  let  fall  a  tear,  departing 
quickly  with  a  cold  smile.  Worse  than  that,  the  wife 
sees  her  husband  tortured  in  the  yam£n  ;  the  husband 
sees  his  wife  victim  to  some  horrible  disease,  lands  gone, 
houses  destroyed  by  flood  or  fire,  and  everything  in 
unutterable  confusion — the  reward  of  former  sins." 

The  Sixth  Court  "is  a  vast,  noisy  Gehenna,  many 
leagues  in  extent,  and  around  it  are  sixteen  wards. 

"  In  the  first,  the  souls  are  made  to  kneel  for  long 
periods  on  iron  shot.  In  the  second,  they  are  placed  up 
to  their  necks  in  filth.  In  the  third,  they  are  pounded 
till  the  blood  runs  out.  In  the  fourth,  their  mouths  are 
opened  with  iron  pincers  and  filled  full  of  needles.  In 
the  fifth,  they  are  bitten  by  rats.  In  the  sixth,  they  are 
enclosed  in  a  net  of  thorns  and  nipped  by  locusts.  In 
the  seventh,  they  are  crushed  to  a  jelly.  In  the  eighth, 
their  skin  is  lacerated  and  they  are  beaten  on  the  raw. 
In  the  ninth,  their  mouths  are  filled  with  fire.  In  the 
tenth,  they  are  licked  by  flames.  In  the  eleventh,  they 
are  subjected  to  noisome  smells.  In  the  twelfth,  they  are 
butted  by  oxen  and  trampled  on  by  horses.  In  the  thir- 
teenth, their  hearts  are  scratched.  In  the  fourteenth, 
their  heads  are  rubbed  till  their  skulls  come  off.  In  the 
fifteenth,  they  are  chopped  in  two  at  the  waist.  In  the 
sixteenth,  their  skin  is  taken  off  and  rolled  up  into  spills. 


422  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

"Those  discontented  ones  who  rail  against  heaven 
and  revile  earth,  who  are  always  finding  fault  either 
with  the  wind,  thunder,  heat,  cold,  fine  weather,  or  rain  ; 
those  who  let  their  tears  fall  towards  the  north  ;  who 
steal  the  gold  from  the  inside  or  scrape  the  gilding  from 
the  outside  of  images ;  those  who  take  holy  names  in 
vain,  who  show  no  respect  for  written  paper,  who  throw 
down  dirt  and  rubbish  near  pagodas  or  temples,  who 
use  dirty  cook-houses  and  stoves  for  preparing  the  sacri- 
ficial meats,  who  do  not  abstain  from  eating  beef  and 
dog-flesh ;  those  who  have  in  their  possession  blas- 
phemous or  obscene  books  and  do  not  destroy  them, 
who  obliterate  or  tear  books  which  teach  man  to  be 
good,  who  carve  on  common  articles  of  household  use 
the  symbol  of  the  origin  of  all  things,  the  Sun  and 
Moon  and  Seven  Stars,  the  Royal  Mother  and  the  God 
of  Longevity  on  the  same  article,  or  representations  of 
any  of  the  Immortals;  those  who  embroider  the  Svastika 
on  fancy-work,  or  mark  characters  on  silk,  satin,  or  cloth, 
on  banners,  beds,  chairs,  tables,  or  any  kind  of  utensil ; 
those  who  secretly  wear  clothes  adorned  with  the  dragon 
and  the  phoenix  only  to  be  trampled  under  foot,  who 
buy  up  grain  and  hold  until  the  price  is  exorbitantly 
high — all  these  shall  be  thrust  into  the  great  and  noisy 
Gehenna,  there  to  be  examined  as  to  their  misdeeds  and 
passed  accordingly  into  one  of  the  sixteen  wards,  whence, 
at  the  expiration  of  their  time,  they  will  be  sent  for  fur- 
ther questioning  on  to  the  Seventh  Court." 

The  Tenth  Court  deals  with  the  final  stage  of  trans- 
migration previous  to  rebirth  in  the  world.  It  appears 
that  in  primeval  ages  men  could  remember  their  former 
lives  on  earth  even  after  having  passed  through  Purga- 
tory, and  that  wicked  persons  often  took  advantage  of 


THE  Yt)  LI  CH'AO  CHUAN  423 

such  knowledge.  To  remedy  this,  a  Terrace  of  Oblivion 
was  built,  and  all  shades  are  now  sent  thither,  and  are 
forced  to  drink  the  cup  of  forgetfulness  before  they  can 
be  born  again. 

"  Whether  they  swallow  much  or  little  it  matters  not ; 
but  sometimes  there  are  perverse  devils  who  altogether 
refuse  to  drink.  Then  beneath  their  feet  sharp  blades 
start  up,  and  a  copper  tube  is  forced  down  their  throats, 
by  which  means  they  are  compelled  to  swallow  some. 
When  they  have  drunk,  they  are  raised  by  the  attendants 
and  escorted  back  by  the  same  path.  They  are  next 
pushed  on  to  the  Bitter  Bamboo  floating  bridge,  with 
torrents  of  rushing  red  water  on  either  side.  Half-way 
across  they  perceive  written  in  large  characters  on  a  red 
cliff  on  the  opposite  side  the  following  lines  : — 

"  To  be  a  man  is  easy,  but  to  act  up  to  one's  responsibilities  as  such 

is  hard; 
Yet  to  be  a  man  once  again  is  perhaps  harder  still, 

"  For  those  who  would  be  born  again  in  some  happy  state  there  is  no 

great  difficulty ; 
//  is  only  necessary  to  keep  mouth  and  heart  in  harmony" 

"  When  the  shades  have  read  these  words,  they  try  to 
jump  on  shore,  but  are  beaten  back  into  the  water  by 
two  huge  devils.  One  has  on  a  black  official  hat  and 
embroidered  clothes ;  in  his  hand  he  holds  a  paper 
pencil,  and  over  his  shoulder  he  carries  a  sharp  sword. 
Instruments  of  torture  hang  at  his  waist ;  fiercely  he 
glares  out  of  his  large  round  eyes  and  laughs  a  horrid 
laugh.  His  name  is  Short- Life.  The  other  has  a  dirty 
face  smeared  with  blood  ;  he  has  on  a  white  coat,  an 
abacus  in  his  hand,  and  a  rice-sack  over  his  shoulder. 
Around  his  neck  hangs  a  string  of  paper  money ;  his 
brow  contracts  hideously  and  he  utters  long  sighs.  His 


424  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

name  is  They-have-their-Reward,  and  his  duty  is  to  push 
the  shades  into  the  red  water.  The  wicked  and  foolish 
rejoice  at  the  prospect  of  being  born  once  more  as 
human  beings,  but  the  better  shades  weep  and  mourn 
that  in  life  they  did  not  lay  up  a  store  of  virtuous  acts, 
and  thus  pass  away  from  the  state  of  mortals  for  ever. 
Yet  they  all  rush  on  to  birth  like  an  infatuated  or  drunken 
crowd,  and  again,  in  their  new  childhood,  hanker  after 
forbidden  flavours.  Then,  regardless  of  consequences, 
they  begin  to  destroy  life,  and  thus  forfeit  all  claims  to 
the  mercy  and  compassion  of  God.  They  take  no 
thought  as  to  the  end  that  must  overtake  them ;  and, 
finally,  they  bring  themselves  once  more  to  the  same 
horrid  plight." 


CHAPTER   IV 

WALL  LITERATURE— JOURNALISM— WIT  AND 
HUMOUR— PROVERBS  AND  MAXIMS 

THE  death  of  Yiian  Yuan  in  1849  brings  us  down  to  the 
period  when  China  began  to  find  herself  for  the  first 
time  face  to  face  with  the  foreigner.  The  opening  of 
five  ports  in  1842  to  comparatively  unrestricted  trade, 
followed  by  more  ports  and  right  of  residence  in  Peking 
from  1860,  created  points  of  contact  and  brought  about 
foreign  complications  to  which  the  governors  of  China 
had  hitherto  been  unused.  A  Chinese  Horace  might 
well  complain  that  the  audacious  brood  of  England  have 
by  wicked  fraud  introduced  journalism  into  the  Empire, 
and  that  evils  worse  than  consumption  and  fevers  have 
followed  in  its  train. 

From  time  immemorial  wall-literature  has  been  a 
feature  in  the  life  of  a  Chinese  city  surpassing  in  extent 
and  variety  that  of  any  other  nation,  and  often  playing 
a  part  fraught  with  much  danger  to  the  community  at 
large.  Generally  speaking,  the  literature  of  the  walls 
covers  pretty  much  the  same  ground  as  an  ordinary 
English  newspaper,  from  the  "agony"  column  down- 
wards. For,  mixed  up  with  notices  of  lost  property, 
consisting  sometimes  of  human  beings,  and  advertise- 
ments of  all  kinds  of  articles  of  trade,  such  as  one  would 
naturally  look  for  in  the  handbill  literature  of  any  city, 


426  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

there  are  to  be  found  announcements  of  new  and 
startling  remedies  for  various  diseases  or  of  infallible 
pills  for  the  cure  of  depraved  opium-smokers,  long  lists 
of  the  names  of  subscribers  to  some  coming  festival  or  to 
the  pious  restoration  of  a  local  temple,  sermons  without 
end  directed  against  the  abuse  of  written  paper,  and  now 
and  then  against  female  infanticide,  or  Cumming-like 
warnings  of  an  approaching  millennium,  at  which  the 
wicked  will  receive  the  reward  of  their  crimes  according 
to  the  horrible  arrangements  of  the  Buddhist-Taoist  pur- 
gatory. Occasionally  an  objectionable  person  will  be 
advised  through  an  anonymous  placard  to  desist  from 
a  course  which  is  pointed  out  as  offensive,  and  simi- 
larly, but  more  rarely,  the  action  of  an  official  will  be 
sometimes  severely  criticised  or  condemned.  Official 
proclamations  on  public  business  can  hardly  be  classed 
as  wall  literature,  except  perhaps  when,  as  is  not  un- 
common, they  are  written  in  doggerel  verse,  with  a  view 
to  appealing  more  directly  to  the  illiterate  reader.  The 
following  proclamation  establishing  a  registry  office  for 
boats  at  Tientsin  will  give  an  idea  of  these  queer  docu- 
ments, the  only  parallel  to  which  in  the  West  might  be 
found  in  the  famous  lines  issued  by  the  Board  of  Trade 
for  the  use  of  sea-captains : — 

"  Green  to  green,  and  red  to  red, 
Perfect  safety,  go  ahead"  6r*c. 

The  object  of  this  registry  office  was  ostensibly  to 
save  the  poor  boatman  from  being  unfairly  dealt  with 
xvhen  impressed  at  nominal  wages  for  Government  ser- 
vice, but  really  to  enable  the  officials  to  know  exactly 
where  to  lay  their  hands  on  boats  when  required: — 


PROCLAMATIONS  427 

"  A  busy  town  is  Tientsin, 
A  land  and  water  thoroughfare; 
Traders,  as  thick  as  clouds,  flock  in; 
Masts  rise  in  forests  everywhere. 

"  The  officiafs  chair,  the  runner's  cap, 
Flit  past  like  falling  rain  or  snow. 
And,  musing  on  the  boatman's  hap, 
His  doubtful  shares  of  weal  and  woe, 

"  /  note  the  vagabonds  who  live 
On  squeezes  from  his  hard-earned  due; 
And,  boatmen,  for  your  sakes  I  give 
A  public  register  to  you. 

"  Go  straightway  there,  your  names  inscribe 
And  on  the  books  a  record  raise; 
None  then  dare  claim  the  wicke.d  bribCj 
Or  waste  your  time  in  long  delays. 

"  The  services  your  country  claims 
Shall  be  performed  in  turn  by  all 
The  muster  of  the  boatmen 's  names 
Be  published  on  the  Yamen  wall. 

"  Once  your  official  business  done, 
Work  for  yourselves  as  best  you  can; 
Let  out  your  boats  to  any  one ; 
P II  give  a  pass  to  every  man. 

u  And  lest  your  lot  be  hard  to  bear 
Official  pay  shall  ample  be ; 
Let  all  who  notice  aught  unfair 
Report  the  case  at  once  to  me. 

"  The  culprit  shall  be  well  deterred 
In  future,  if  his  guilt  is  clear; 
For  times  are  hard,  as  I  have  heard, 
And  food  and  clothing  getting  dear. 

"  Thus,  in  compassion  for  your  woe, 
The  scales  of  Justice  in  my  hand, 
I  save  you  from  the  Yamen  foe, 
The  barrack-solaier?  threatening  band. 


428  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

"  No  longer  will  they  dare  to  play 
Their  shameful  tricks ;  of  late  revealed; 
The  office  only  sends  away 
Boats — and  on  orders  duly  sealed. 

"  One  rule  will  thus  be  made  for  all, 
And  things  may  not  go  much  amiss; 
Ye  boatmen,  'tis  on  you  I  call 
To  show  your  gratitude  for  this. 

"  But  lest  there  be  who  ignorance  plead, 
I  issue  this  in  hope  to  awe 
Such  fools  as  think  they  will  succeed 
By  trying  to  evade  the  law. 

,  "  For  if  I  catch  them,  no  light  fate 

Awaits  them  that  unlucky  day; 
So  from  this  proclamation's  date 
Let  all  in  fear  and  dread  obey." 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  that  wall  literature  has 
often  been  directed  against  foreigners,  and  especially 
against  missionaries.  The  penalties,  however,  for  post- 
ing anonymous  placards  are  very  severe,  and  of  late 
years  the  same  end  has  been  more  effectually  attained 
by  the  circulation  of  abusive  fly-sheets,  often  pictorial 
and  always  disgusting. 

Journalism  has  proved  to  be  a  terrible  thorn  in  the 
official  side.  It  was  first  introduced  into  China  under 
the  aegis  of  an  Englishman  who  was  the  nominal  editor 
of  the  Shen  Pao  or  Shanghai  News,  still  a  very  influential 
newspaper.  For  a  long  time  the  authorities  fought  to 
get  rid  of  this  objectionable  daily,  which  now  and  again 
told  some  awkward  truths,  and  contained  many  ably 
written  articles  by  first-class  native  scholars.  Eventually 
an  official  organ  was  started  in  opposition,  and  other 
papers  have  since  appeared.  An  illustrated  Chinese 
weekly  made  a  good  beginning  in  Shanghai,  but  un- 


TRANSLATIONS  429 

fortunately  it  soon  drifted  into  superstition,  intolerance, 
and  vulgarity. 

Attempts  have  been  made  to  provide  the  Chinese  with 
translations  of  noted  European  works,  and  among  those 
which  have  been  produced  may  be  mentioned  "The 
Pilgrim's  Progress,"  with  illustrations,  the  various  char- 
acters being  in  Chinese  dress ;  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer's 
"  Education,"  the  very  first  sentence  in  which  is  painfully 
misrendered;  the  "Adventures  of  Baron  Munchausen/' 
and  others.  In  every  case  save  one  these  efforts  have  been 
rejected  by  the  Chinese  on  the  ground  of  inferior  style. 
The  exception  was  a  translation  of  ^Esop's  Fables,  pub- 
lished in  1840  by  Robert  Thorn  as  rendered  into  Chinese 
by  an  eminent  native  scholar.  This  work  attracted  much 
attention  among  the  people  generally ;  so  much  so,  that 
the  officials  took  alarm  and  made  strenuous  efforts  to 
suppress  it.  Recent  years  have  witnessed  the  publica- 
tion in  Chinese  of  "Vathek,"  in  reference  to  which  a 
literate  of  standing  offered  the  following  criticism  : — 
"The  style  in  which  this  work  is  written  is  not  so  bad, 
but  the  subject-matter  is  of  no  account."  The  fact  is, 
that  to  satisfy  the  taste  of  the  educated  Chinese  reader 
the  very  first  requisite  is  style.  As  has  been  seen  in 
the  case  of  the  Liao  Chai%  the  Chinese  will  read  almost 
anything,  provided  it  is  set  in  a  faultless  frame.  They 
will  not  look  at  anything  emanating  from  foreign  sources 
in  which  this  greatest  desideratum  has  been  neglected. 

The  present  age  has  seen  the  birth  of  no  great 
original  writer  in  any  department  of  literature,  nor  the 
production  of  any  great  original  work  worthy  to  be 
smeared  with  cedar-oil  for  the  delectation  of  posterity. 
It  is  customary  after  the  death,  sometimes  during  the 


430  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

life,  of  any  leading  statesman  to  publish  a  collection  of 
his  memorials  to  the  throne,  with  possibly  a  few  essays 
and  some  poems.  Such  have  a  brief  succes  (festime,  and 
are  then  used  by  binders  for  thickening  the  folded  leaves 
of  some  masterpiece  of  antiquity.  Successful  candidates 
for  the  final  degree  usually  print  their  winning  essays, 
and  sometimes  their  poems,  chiefly  for  distribution 
among  friends.  Several  diaries  of  Ministers  to  foreign 
countries  and  similar  books  have  appeared  in  recent 
years,  recording  the  astonishment  of  the  writers  at  the 
extraordinary  social  customs  which  prevail  among  the 
barbarians.  But  nowadays  a  Chinaman  who  wishes  to 
read  a  book  does  not  sit  down  and  write  one.  He  is 
too  much  oppressed  by  the  vast  dimensions  of  his 
existing  literature,  and  by  the  hopelessness  of  rivalling, 
and  still  more  by  the  hopelessness  of  surpassing,  those 
immortals  who  have  gone  before. 

It  would  be  obviously  unfair  to  describe  the  Chinese 
people  as  wanting  in  humour  simply  because  they  are 
tickled  by  jests  which  leave  us  comparatively  unmoved. 
Few  of  our  own  most  amusing  stories  will  stand  con- 
version into  Chinese  terms.  The  following  are  speci- 
mens of  classical  humour,  being  such  as  might  be 
introduced  into  any  serious  biographical  notice  of  the 
individuals  concerned. 

Ch'un-yii  K'un  (4th  cent.  B.C.)  was  the  wit  already 
mentioned,  who  tried  to  entangle  Mencius  in  his  talk. 
On  one  occasion,  when  the  Ch'u  State  was  about  to 
attack  the  Chi  State,  he  was  ordered  by  the  Prince 
of  Ch'i,  who  was  his  father-in-law,  to  proceed  to  the 
Chao  State  and  ask  that  an  army  might  be  sent 
to  their  assistance  ;  to  which  end  the  Prince  supplied 
him  with  100  Ibs.  of  silver  and  ten  chariots  as  offerings 


WIT  AND  HUMOUR  431 

to  the  ruler  of  Chao.  At  this  Ch'un-yii  laughed  so 
immoderately  that  he  snapped  the  lash  of  his  cap ;  and 
when  the  Prince  asked  him  what  was  the  joke,  he  said, 
"As  I  was  coming  along  this  morning,  I  saw  a  husband- 
man sacrificing  a  pig's  foot  and  a  single  cup  of  wine  ; 
after  which  he  prayed,  saying,  *O  God,  make  my  upper 
terraces  fill  baskets  and  my  lower  terraces  fill  carts; 
make  my  fields  bloom  with  crops  and  my  barns  burst 
with  grain  ! '  And  I  could  not  help  laughing  at  a  man 
who  offered  so  little  and  wanted  so  much."  The  Prince 
took  the  hint,  and  obtained  the  assistance  he  required. 

T'ao  Ku  (A.D.  902-970)  was  an  eminent  official  whose 
name  is  popularly  known  in  connection  with  the  follow- 
ing repartee.  Having  ordered  a  newly-purchased  wait- 
ing-maid to  get  some  snow  and  make  tea  in  honour  of 
the  Feast  of  Lanterns,  he  asked  her,  somewhat  pom- 
pously, "Was  that  the  custom  in  your  former  home?" 
"Oh,  no,"  the  girl  replied;  "they  were  a  rough  lot. 
They  just  put  up  a  gold-splashed  awning,  and  had  a  little 
music  and  some  old  wine." 

Li  Chia-ming  (loth  cent.  A.D.)  was  a  wit  at  the  Court 
of  the  last  ruler  of  the  Tang  dynasty.  On  one  occasion 
the  latter  drew  attention  to  some  gathering  clouds  which 
appeared  about  to  bring  rain.  "They  may  come,"  said 
Li  Chia-ming,  "but  they  will  not  venture  to  enter  the 
city."  "Why  not?"  asked  the  Prince.  "Because," 
replied  the  wit,  "the  octroi  is  so  high."  Orders  were 
thereupon  issued  that  the  duties  should  be  reduced  by 
one-half.  On  another  occasion  the  Prince  was  fishing 
with  some  of  his  courtiers,  all  of  whom  managed  to  catch 
something,  whereas  he  himself,  to  his  great  chagrin,  had 
not  a  single  bite.  Thereupon  Li  Chia-ming  took  a  pen 
and  wrote  the  following  lines  : — 


432  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

" '  Tis  rapture  in  the  warm  spring  days  to  drop  the  tempting  fly 
In  the  green  pool  where  deep  and  still  the  darkling  waters  lie  ; 
And  if  the  fishes  dare  not  touch  the  bait  your  Highness flings, 
They  know  that  only  dragons  are  a  fitting  sport  for  kings" 

Liu  Chi  (nth  cent.  A.D.)  was  a  youth  who  had  gained 
some  notoriety  by  his  fondness  for  strange  phraseology, 
which  was  much  reprobated  by  the  great  Ou-yang  Hsiu. 
When  the  latter  was  Grand  Examiner,  one  of  the  candi- 
dates sent  in  a  doggerel  triplet  as  follows  : — 

"  The  universe  is  in  labour, 
All  things  are  produced. 
And  among  them  the  Sage" 

"This  must  be  Liu  Chi,"  cried  Ou-yang,  and  ran  a 
red-ink  pen  through  the  composition,  adding  these  two 
lines : — 

"  The  undergraduate  jokes, 
The  examiner  ploughs? 

Later  on,  about  the  year  1060,  Ou-yang  was  very  much 
struck  by  the  essay  of  a  certain  candidate,  and  placed 
him  first  on  the  list.  When  the  names  were  read  out, 
he  found  that  the  first  man  was  Liu  Chi,  who  had 
changed  his  name  to  Liu  Yiin. 

Chang  Hsiian-tsu  was  a  wit  of  the  Han  dynasty. 
When  he  was  only  eight  years  old,  some  one  laughed  at 
him  for  having  lost  several  teeth,  and  said,  "What  are 
those  dog-holes  in  your  mouth  for  ?  "  "They  are  there," 
replied  Chang,  "  to  let  puppies  like  you  run  in  and  out." 

Collections  of  wit  and  humour  of  the  Joe  Miller  type 
are  often  to  be  seen  in  the  hands  of  Chinese  readers,  and 
may  be  bought  at  any  bookstall.  Like  many  novels  of 
the  cheap  and  worthless  class,  not  to  be  mentioned  with 
the  masterpieces  of  fiction  described  in  this  volume, 


THE  HSIAO  LIN   KUANG  CHI  433 

these  collections  are  largely  unfit  for  translation.  All 
literature  in  China  is  pure.  Novels  and  stories  are  not 
classed  as  literature  ;  the  authors  have  no  desire  to  attach 
their  names  to  such  works,  and  the  consequence  is  a 
great  falling  off  from  what  may  be  regarded  as  the 
national  standard.  Even  the  Hung  Lou  Ming  contains 
episodes  which  mar  to  a  considerable  extent  the  beauty 
of  the  whole.  One  excuse  is  that  it  is  a  novel  of  real 
life,  and  to  omit,  therefore,  the  ordinary  frailties  of 
mortals  would  be  to  produce  an  incomplete  and  inade- 
quate picture. 

The  following  are  a  few  specimens  of  humorous  anec- 
dotes taken  from  the  Hsiao  Lin  Kuang  Chi,  a  modern 
work  in  four  small  volumes,  in  which  the  stories  are 
classified  under  twelve  heads,  such  as  Arts,  Women, 
Priests  : — 

A  bridegroom  noticing  deep  wrinkles  on  the  face  of 
his  bride,  asked  her  how  old  she  was,  to  which  she 
replied,  "About  forty-five  or  forty-six."  "Your  age  is 
stated  on  the  marriage  contract,"  he  rejoined,  "  as  thirty- 
eight  ;  but  I  am  sure  you  are  older  than  that,  and  you 
may  as  well  tell  me  the  truth."  "  I  am  really  fifty- 
four,"  answered  the  bride.  The  bridegroom,  however, 
was  not  satisfied,  and  determined  to  set  a  trap  for  her. 
Accordingly  he  said,  "  Oh,  by  the  by,  I  must  just  go 
and  cover  up  the  salt  jar,  or  the  rats  will  eat  every  scrap 
of  it."  "Well,  I  never  !"  cried  the  bride,  taken  off  her 
guard.  "Here  I've  lived  sixty-eight  years,  and  I  never 
before  heard  of  rats  stealing  salt." 

A  woman  who  was  entertaining  a  paramour  during 
the  absence  of  her  husband,  was  startled  by  hearing  the 
latter  knock  at  the  house-door.  She  hurriedly  bundled 
the  man  into  a  rice-sack,  which  she  concealed  in  a 


434  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

corner  of  the  room  ;  but  when  her  husband  came  in 
he  caught  sight  of  it,  and  asked  in  a  stern  voice,  "  What 
have  you  got  in  that  sack  ?  "  His  wife  was  too  terrified 
to  answer ;  and  after  an  awkward  pause  a  voice  from 
the  sack  was  heard  to  say,  "  Only  rice." 

A  scoundrel  who  had  a  deep  grudge  against  a  wealthy 
man,  sought  out  a  famous  magician  and  asked  for  his 
help.  "  I  can  send  demon  soldiers  and  secretly  cut 
him  off,"  said  the  magician.  "Yes,  but  his  sons  and 
grandsons  would  inherit,"  replied  the  other ;  "  that 
won't  do."  "  I  can  draw  down  fire  from  heaven,"  said 
the  magician,  "and  burn  his  house  and  valuables." 
"  Even  then,"  answered  the  man,  "  his  landed  property 
would  remain  ;  so  that  won't  do."  "  Oh,"  cried  the 
magician,  "if  your  hate  is  so  deep  as  all  that,  I  have 
something  precious  here  which,  if  you  can  persuade 
him  to  avail  himself  of  it,  will  bring  him  and  his  to 
utter  smash."  He  thereupon  gave  to  his  delighted 
client  a  tightly  closed  package,  which,  on  being  opened, 
was  seen  to  contain  a  pen.  "  What  spiritual  power 
is  there  in  this  ? "  asked  the  man.  "  Ah  ! "  sighed  the 
magician,  "  you  evidently  do  not  know  how  many 
have  been  brought  to  ruin  by  the  use  of  this  little 
thing." 

A  doctor  who  had  mismanaged  a  case  was  seized  by 
the  family  and  tied  up.  In  the  night  he  managed  to 
free  himself,  and  escaped  by  swimming  across  a  river. 
WThen  he  got  home,  he  found  his  son,  who  had  just 
begun  to  study  medicine,  and  said  to  him,  "  Don't  be 
in  a  hurry  with  your  books ;  the  first  and  most  im- 
portant thing  is  to  learn  to  swim." 

The  King  of  Purgatory  sent  his  lictors  to  earth  to 
bring  back  some  skilful  physician.  "You  must  look 


THE  HSIAO  LIN  KUANG  CHI  435 

for  one,"  said  the  King,  "  at  whose  door  there  are  no 
aggrieved  spirits  of  disembodied  patients."  The  lictors 
went  off,  but  at  the  house  of  every  doctor  they  visited 
there  were  crowds  of  wailing  ghosts  hanging  about.  At 
last  they  found  a  doctor  at  whose  door  there  was  only 
a  single  shade,  and  cried  out,  "This  man  is  evidently 
the  skilful  one  we  are  in  search  of."  On  inquiry,  how- 
ever, they  discovered  that  he  had  only  started  practice 
the  day  before. 

A  general  was  hard  pressed  in  battle  and  on  the 
point  of  giving  way,  when  suddenly  a  spirit  soldier 
came  to  his  rescue  and  enabled  him  to  win  a  great 
victory.  Prostrating  himself  on  the  ground,  he  asked 
the  spirit's  name.  "  I  am  the  God  of  the  Target,"  re- 
plied the  spirit.  "  And  how  have  I  merited  your  god- 
ship's  kind  assistance?"  inquired  the  general.  "I  am 
grateful  to  you,"  answered  the  spirit,  "  because  in  your 
days  of  practice  you  never  once  hit  me." 

A  portrait-painter,  who  was  doing  very  little  business, 
was  advised  by  a  friend  to  paint  a  picture  of  himself  and 
his  wife,  and  to  hang  it  out  in  the  street  as  an  advertise- 
ment. This  he  did,  and  shortly  afterwards  his  father-in- 
law  came  along.  Gazing  at  the  picture  for  some  time, 
the  latter  at  length  asked,  "Who  is  that  woman?" 
"  Why,  that  is  your  daughter,"  replied  the  artist.  "  What- 
ever is  she  doing,"  again  inquired  her  father,  "sitting  there 
with  that  stranger  ?  " 

A  man  who  had  been  condemned  to  wear  the  cangue^ 
or  wooden  collar,  was  seen  by  some  of  his  friends. 
"What  have  you  been  doing,"  they  asked,  "to  deserve 
this?"  "Oh,  nothing,"  he  replied;  "I  only  picked  up 
an  old  piece  of  rope."  "And  are  you  to  be  punished 
thus  severely,"  they  said,  "  for  merely  picking  up  an 


436  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

end  of  rope  ?  "  "  Well,"  answered  the  man,  "  the  fact 
is  that  there  was  a  bullock  tied  to  the  other  end." 

A  man  asked  a  friend  to  stay  and  have  tea.  Un- 
fortunately there  was  no  tea  in  the  house,  so  a  servant 
was  sent  to  borrow  some.  Before  the  latter  had  re- 
turned the  water  was  already  boiling,  and  it  became 
necessary  to  pour  in  more  cold  water.  This  happened 
several  times,  and  at  length  the  boiler  was  overflowing 
but  no  tea  had  come.  Then  the  man's  wife  said  to  her 
husband,  "  As  we  don't  seem  likely  to  get  any  tea,  you 
had  better  offer  your  friend  a  bath  !  " 

A  monkey,  brought  after  death  before  the  King  of 
Purgatory,  begged  to  be  reborn  on  earth  as  a  man. 
"  In  that  case,"  said  the  King,  "  all  the  hairs  must  be 
plucked  out  of  your  body,"  and  he  ordered  the  attendant 
demons  to  pull  them  out  forthwith.  At  the  very  first 
hair,  however,  the  monkey  screeched  out,  and  said  he 
could  not  bear  the  pain.  "You  brute!"  roared  the  King, 
"  how  are  you  to  become  a  man  if  you  cannot  even  part 
with  a  single  hair  ?  " 

A  braggart  chess-player  played  three  games  with  a 
stranger  and  lost  them  all.  Next  day  a  friend  asked 
him  how  he  had  come  off.  "  Oh,"  said  he,  "  I  didn't 
win  the  first  game,  and  my  opponent  didn't  lose  the 
second.  As  for  the  third,  I  wanted  to  draw  it,  but  he 
wouldn't  agree." 

The  barest  sketch  of  Chinese  literature  would  hardly 
be  complete  without  some  allusion  to  its  proverbs  and 
maxims.  These  are  not  only  to  be  found  largely  scat- 
tered throughout  every  branch  of  writing,  classical  and 
popular,  but  may  also  be  studied  in  collections,  generally 
under  a  metrical  form.  Thus  the  Ming  Hsien  Chi,  to 


PROVERBS  437 

take  one  example,  which  can  be  purchased  anywhere 
for  about  a  penny,  consists  of  thirty  pages  of  proverbs 
and  the  like,  arranged  in  antithetical  couplets  of  five,  six, 
and  seven  characters  to  each  line.  Children  are  made 
to  learn  these  by  heart,  and  ordinary  grown-up  China- 
men may  be  almost  said  to  think  in  proverbs.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  to  the  foreigner  a  large  store  of 
proverbs,  committed  to  memory  and  judiciously  intro- 
duced, are  a  great  aid  to  successful  conversation.  These 
are  a  few  taken  from  an  inexhaustible  supply,  omitting 
to  a  great  extent  such  as  find  a  ready  equivalent  in 
English  : — 

Deal  with  the  faults  of  others  as  gently  as  with  your 
own. 

By  many  words  wit  is  exhausted. 

If  you  bow  at  all,  bow  low. 

If  you  take  an  ox,  you  must  give  a  horse. 

A  man  thinks  he  knows,  but  a  woman  knows  better. 

Words  whispered  on  earth  sound  like  thunder  in 
heaven. 

If  fortune  smiles — who  doesn't  ?  If  fortune  doesn't — 
who  does  ? 

Moneyed  men  are  always  listened  to. 

Nature  is  better  than  a  middling  doctor. 

Stay  at  home  and  reverence  your  parents  ;  why  travel 
afar  to  worship  the  gods  ? 

A  bottle-nosed  man  may  be  a  teetotaller,  but  no  one 
will  think  so. 

It  is  easier  to  catch  a  tiger  than  to  ask  a  favour. 

With  money  you  can  move  the  gods  ;  without  it,  you 
can't  move  a  man. 

Bend  your  head  if  the  eaves  are  low. 

Oblige,  and  you  will  be  obliged. 


438  CHINESE  LITERATURE 

Don't  put  two  saddles  on  one  horse. 

Armies  are  maintained  for  years,  to  be  used  on  a 
single  day. 

In  misfortune,  gold  is  dull ;  in  happiness,  iron  is 
bright. 

More  trees  are  upright  than  men. 

If  you  fear  that  people  will  know,  don't  do  it. 

Long  visits  bring  short  compliments. 

If  you  are  upright  and  without  guile,  what  god  need 
you  pray  to  for  pardon  ? 

Some  study  shows  the  need  for  more. 

One  kind  word  will  keep  you  warm  for  three  winters. 

The  highest  towers  begin  from  the  ground. 

No  needle  is  sharp  at  both  ends. 

Straight  trees  are  felled  first. 

No  image-maker  worships  the  gods.  He  knows  what 
stuff  they  are  made  of. 

Half  an  orange  tastes  as  sweet  as  a  whole  one. 

We  love  our  own  compositions,  but  other  men's  wives. 

Free  sitters  at  the  play  always  grumble  most. 

It  is  not  the  wine  which  makes  a  man  drunk  ;  it  is  the 
man  himself. 

Better  a  dog  in  peace  than  a  man  in  war. 

Every  one  gives  a  shove  to  the  tumbling  wall. 

Sweep  the  snow  from  your  own  doorstep. 

He  who  rides  a  tiger  cannot  dismount. 

Politeness  before  force. 

One  dog  barks  at  something,  and  the  rest  bark  at  him. 

You  can't  clap  hands  with  one  palm. 

Draw  your  bow,  but  don't  shoot. 

One  more  good  man  on  earth  is  better  than  an  extra 
angel  in  heaven. 

Gold  is  tested  by  fire  ;  man,  by  gold. 


PROVERBS  439 

Those  who  have  not  tasted  the  bitterest  of  life's  bitters 
can  never  appreciate  the  sweetest  of  life's  sweets. 

Money  makes  a  blind  man  see. 

Man  is  God  upon  a  small  scale.  God  is  man  upon  a 
large  scale. 

A  near  neighbour  is  better  than  a  distant  relation. 

Without  error  there  could  be  no  such  thing  as  truth. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE 


WHAT  foreign  students  have  achieved  in  the  department  of  Chinese 
literature  from  the  sixteenth  century  down  to  quite  recent  times  is 
well  exhibited  in  the  three  large  volumes  which  form  the  Bibliotheca 
Sinica,  or  Dictionnaire  Bibliographique  des  Outrages  rttatifs  a  F Em- 
pire chinois,  by  Henri  Cordier :  Paris,  Ernest  Leroux,  1878;  with 
Supplement,  1895.  This  work  is  carried  out  with  a  fulness  and  accu- 
racy which  leave  nothing  to  be  desired,  and  is  essential  to  all  syste- 
matic workers  in  the  Chinese  field. 

By  far  the  most  important  of  all  books  mentioned  in  the  above 
collection  is  a  complete  translation  of  the  Confucian  Canon  by  the 
late  Dr.  James  Legge  of  Aberdeen,  under  the  general  title  of  The 
Chinese  Classics.  The  publication  of  this  work,  which  forms  the 
greatest  existing  monument  of  Anglo-Chinese  scholarship,  extended 
from  1 86 1  to  1885. 

The  Cursus  Literatures  Sinicce,  by  P.  Zottoli,  S.J.,  Shanghai,  1879- 
1882,  is  an  extensive  series  of  translations  into  Latin  from  all  branches 
of  Chinese  literature,  and  is  designed  especially  for  the  use  of  Roman 
Catholic  missionaries  (neo-missionariis  accommodatus). 

Another  very  important  work,  now  rapidly  approaching  completion, 
is  a  translation  by  Professor  E.  Chavannes,  College  de  France,  of  the 
famous  history  described  in  Book  II.  chap,  iii.,  under  the  title  of  Les 
Mtmoires  Historiques  de  Se-nta  Ts'ien,  the  first  volume  of  which  is 
dated  Paris,  1895. 

Notes  on  Chinese  Literature,  by  A.  Wylie,  Shanghai,  1867,  contains 
descriptive  notices  of  about  2000  separate  Chinese  works,  arranged 
under  Classics,  History,  Philosophy,  and  Belles  Lettres,  as  in  the 
Imperial  Catalogue  (see  p.  387).  Considering  the  date  at  which  it 
was  written,  this  book  is  entitled  to  rank  among  the  highest  efforts  of 
the  kind.  It  is  still  of  the  utmost  value  to  the  student,  though  in  need 
of  careful  revision. 


442  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE 

The  following  Catalogues  of  Chinese  libraries  in  Europe  have  been 
published  in  recent  years  : — 

Catalogue  of  Chinese  Printed  Books,  Manuscripts, ff  id  Drawings  in 
the  Library  of  the  British  Museum.  By  R.  K.  Douglas,  1877. 

Catalogue  of  the  Chinese  Translation  of  the  Buddhist  Tripifaka. 
By  Bunyio  Nanjio,  1883. 

Catalogue  of  the  Chinese  Books  and  Manuscripts  in  the  Library  of 
Lord  Crawford,  Haigh  Hall,  Wigan.  By  J.  P.  Edmond,  1895. 

Catalogue  of  the  Chinese  and  Manchu  Books  in  the  Library  of  the 
University  of  Cambridge.  By  H.  A.  Giles,  1898. 

Catalogue  des  Livres  Chinois,  Garten s,  Japonai 's,  etc.,  in  the  Biblio- 
theque  Nationale.  By  Maurice  Courant,  Paris,  1900.  (Fasc.  i.  pp. 
vii.,  148,  has  already  appeared.) 

The  chief  periodicals  especially  devoted  to  studies  in  Chinese  litera- 
ture are  as  follows  : — 

The  Chinese  Repository,  published  monthly  at  Canton  from  May 
1832  to  December  1851. 

The  Journal  of  the  North-China  Branch  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society, 
published  annually  at  Shanghai  from  1858  to  1884,  and  since  that 
date  issued  in  fascicules  at  irregular  intervals  during  each  year. 

The  China  Review,  published  every  two  months  at  Hong-Kong 
from  June  1872  to  the  present  date. 

There  is  also  the  Chinese  Recorder,  which  has  existed  since  1868, 
and  is  now  published  every  two  months  at  Shanghai.  This  is,  strictly 
speaking,  a  missionary  journal,  but  it  often  contains  valuable  papers 
on  Chinese  literature  and  cognate  subjects. 

Variety's  Sinologiques  is  the  title  of  a  series  of  monographs  on 
various  Chinese  topics,  written  and  published  at  irregular  intervals  by 
the  Jesuit  Fathers  at  Shanghai  since  1892,  and  distinguished  by  the 
erudition  and  accuracy  of  all  its  contributors. 


INDEX 


ANAESTHETICS,  278 
Analects,  32-35 
Art  of  War,  43,  44 

BAMBOO  Annals,  137 

Barbarians,  400,  418,  428 

Bashpa,  247 

Beggar  King,  291 

Bibliography,  441 

Biographies  of  Eminent  Women,  92 

B&dhidharma,  115 

Book  of  Changes,  9,  21-23 

Book  of  History,  7,  9,  10,  12 

Book  of  Odes,  12-21,  256 

Book  of  Rewards  and  Punishments, 

418 

Book  of  Rites,  23,  24,  41 
Buddhism,  110-116,  403,  419 

CATALOGUE  of  the  Imperial  Library, 

387,  418 

Chan  Kuo  Ts'2,  92 
CHANG  Cm,  175,  176 
CHANG  CHIH-HO,  191 
Chang  Hsiian-tsu,  432 
CHANG  KUO-PIN,  274 
CHANG  Pi,  209 
CHANG  T'ING-YU,  404 
CHANG  CH'IEN,  158 
Chao  Ch'i,  36 
CHAO  I,  415 
CHAO  LI-HUA,  333 
Chao  Pin^,  247 
CHAO  TS'AI-CHI,  333 


CH'AO  Ts'o,  80 

CH'EN  HAO-TZU,  413 

CH'EN  HUNG-MOU,  404 

CH  EN  LIN,  122 

CH'EN  P'ENG-NIEN,  238 

CH'EN  T'AO,  204 

CH'EN  T'UAN,  233 

CH'EN  TZU-ANG,  147,  148 

CHENG  CH'IAO,  228 

CHENG  HSUAN,  23,  95 

CH'ENG  HAO,  220,  236 

CH'ENG  I,  220 

Chi  Hsi,  127 

CHI  CHUN-HSIANG,  269 

Chi  Yun,  238 

Chia  I,  54,  97 

Chia  Yu,  48 

CH'IKN   LUNG,    14,  228,   252,   387, 

41? 

Chin  Ku  Ch'i  Kuan,  322 
Ch'in  Kuei,  261 
CKin  P'ing  Mei,  309 
L'hing  Hua  Yuan,  316-322 
Chou  Li,  24 
CHOU  TUN-I,  219 
CKouJen  Chuan,  418 
CHU  Hsi,  228-231 
Chu-ko  Liang,  277 
CHU  SHIH,  404 
CHU  YUNG-SHUN,  391 
CH'U  YUAN,  50-53 
CHUANG  TzO,  60-68 
Ch'un  Ch'iu,  25 
Ch'un-yil  K'un,  430 


443 


444 


INDEX 


Chung  Yung,  41 

Classic  of  Filial  Piety,  48 

Complete  collection  of  the  poetry  of 

the  Tang  dynasty,  143 
Concordances,  385,  386 
CONFUCIUS,  7,  12,  13,  22,  24,  25,  28, 

32-35.  4i»  48 
Cookery-book,  409 
Criminal   cases  of    Lan    Ting-yttan, 

395 

DICTIONARIES,  109,  238,  385 
Doctrine  of  the  Mean,  41 
Drama,  256-262,  325 
Dream  of  the  Red  Chamber,  355 

ENCYCLOPEDIAS,  239,  240,  386,  41 

Erh  Tou  Met,  324 

Erh  Ya,  44,  137 

European  works  in  Chinese,  429 

FA  HSIEN,  111-114 

Fa  Yen,  93 

Family  maxims,  392 

Family  sayings  of  Confucius,  48 

FAN  YEH,  138 

FANG  HSIAO-JU,  294-296 

FANG  SHU-SHAO,  333,  334 

FANG  WEI-I,  417 

Fang  Yen,  94 

Feng  S hen,  310 

FENG  TAG,  210 

First  Emperor,  48,  77-79,  107,  108 

Five  Classics,  7-31 

Flowery  Ball,  The,  264-268 

Foreigners.     See  Barbarians 

Four  Books,  32-42 

Fu  Hsi,  21 

Fu  I,  134 

Fu  Mi,  128 

GARDENING,  413 
Gobharana,  1 10 
Great  Learning,  41 


HAN  FEI  Tzu,  70-72 

Han  Wen-Kung,  160 

HAN  Yii,  160-163,  196-203,  355 

Historical  Record,  102 

History,  102 

History  of  the  Ming  Dynasty,  404 

History  of  the  Mongol  Dynasty,  291 

Ho  Shang  Kung,  95 

Hsi  Hsiang  Chi,  273,  276 

Hsi  K'ang,  126 

Hsi  Yu  Chi,  281-287,  310 

Hsi  Yuan  Lu,  241-243 

HSIANG  Hsiu,  61,  127 

Hsiao  Ching,  48 

Hsiao  Lin  Kuang  Chi,  433-436 

Hsiao  Tsang  Shan  Fang  CKih  T"ut 

405 

HSIAO  TUNG,  139 
HSIAO  YEN,  133 
Hsiao  Yii,  134 
HSIEH  CHIN,  329-331 
Hsieh  Su-su,  332 
HSIEH  TAO-HENG,  133 
Hsu  AN-CHEN,  178 
Hsu  HSIEH,  305-307 
Hsu  KAN,  119 
Hsu  KUANG-CH'I,  308 
Hsu  SHEN,  109 

Hsiian  Tsang,  115,  281,  284-287 
HSUN  Hsu,  137 
HSUN  Tzu,  47 
Hua,  Dr.,  278-280 
HUAI-NAN  Tzu,  72-74 

HUANG-FU  Ml,  137 

Huang  CKing  Ching  Chieh,  418 

HUANG  T'ING-CHIEN,  227,  228,  235, 

236 

Humour,  Classical,  430 
HUNG  CHUEH-FAN,  236 
Hung  Lou  Meng,  355,  433 
Hung  Mai,  83,  94 

I  Ching,  21 
I  Li,  25 


INDEX 


445 


JESUIT  Fathers,  308 
Jih  Chih  Lu,  391 
Joining  the  Shirt,  274 
Journalism,  428 


Kan  Ying  fun,  418 
K'ANG  Hsi,  385 
fCang  Hsi  Tzu  Tien,  385 
KAO  CHU-NIENT,  237 
KAO  TSE-CH'ENG,  326 
Kao  Tzu,  37-39 
Kashiapmadanga,  no 
Ku  CHIANG,  391 
KU-LIANG,  29,  30 
Ku  Yen-wu,  391 
Kuan  Tzu,  44 
Kuang  Yun,  238 
Kublai  Khan,  247,  248 
Kumarajiva,  114 
KUNG-YANG,  29-31 
K'UNG  AN-KUO,  80 
K'UNG  CHI,  36,  41 
K'UNG  JUNG,  120 
K'ung  Tao-fu,  258 
K'UNG  YING-TA,  190 
Kuo  HSIANG,  61,  137 
Kro  P'o,  45,  138 
Kuo  Yu,  26 


LAN  TING-YUAN,  392 
Lao  Tan,  24 
LAO  TzC,  56-60' 
Lexicography,  190 
Li  Chi,  23,  25 
Li  Chia-ming,  431 
Li  FANG,  239,  240 
Li  Ho,  175 
Li  II u A,  203,  204 
Li  LING,  81-89 
Li  Po,  151-156 
Li  PO-YAO,  190 
Li  Sao,  51 


Li  SHE,  177 

Li  SHIH-CHEN,  307 

Li  SsC,  78,  79 

Li  YANG-PING,  190,  191 

Li  Ying,  120 

Liao  Chat  Chih  7,  338-355 

Lieh  Kuo  Chuan,  310-315 

LIEH  TzC,  68-70 

Lin  Hsi-chung,  60,  83,  165 

Little  Learning,  230 

Liu  An,  72 

Liu  CH'E,  99-101 

Liu  CHENG,  122 

Liu  CHI,  252,  432 

Liu  HENG,  98 

Liu  HSIANG,  92,  97 

Liu  HSIN,  92 

Liu  HsU,  212,  217 

Liu  LING,  125,  126 

Liu  Shu  Ku,  239 

LlU   TSUNG-YUAN,  l6o,  191-196 

Liu  YIN,  251,  252 

Liu  Yun,  432 

Lo  KUAN-CHUNG,  277 

Lu  WEN-SHU,  89-92 

Lu  YUAN-LANG,  189 

Lu  PU-WEI,  48 

Lu  Shih  Chun  Ct'iu,  48 

Lun  Heng,  94 

Lun  Yti,  32-35 


MA  JUNG,  23,  94 

MA  TUAN-LIN,  240 

MA  TZO-JAN,  177 

Materia  Medica,  307 

Mathematicians,  Biographies  of,  418 

Matteo  Ricci,  308,  418 

Medical  Jurisprudence,  240-243 

MEI  SHENG,  97 

MENCIUS,  25,  35-40 

MENG  HAO-JAN,  149 

Meng  T'ien,  80 

Ming  Chi  Kang  Mu,  404 


446  INDEX 


Ming  Hsien  Chi,  436 

Ming  Huang,  Emperor,  257 

"  Mirror  of  Flowers,"  413 

Mirror  of  History,  217 

Mongol  Plays,  268 

Mo  Ti,  37,  40,  41 

Mu  Tien  Tzti  Chuan,  49 

NEARING  the  Standard,  44,  45 
New  History  of  the  Tang  Dynasty, 

217 
Nine  Old  Gentlemen  of  Hsiang-shan, 

164 
Novel,  The  Chinese,  276 

O-ERH-T'AI,  404 
Odes.     See  Book  of  Odes 
Orphan  of  the  Chao  Family,  269 
OU-YANG   HSIU,  2I2-2I6,   217,    222, 

432 

PAN,  the  Lady,  101,  393 

PAN  CHAD,  108 

PAN  Ku,  108 

Pan  Piao,  108 

PAO  CHAO,  132 

Pear-Garden,  The,  257 

P'ei  H'Sn  Yun  Fu,  385 

P'i  Pa  Chi,  325-328 

"  Picking  up  Gold,"  389 

P'ien  Tzti  Lei  P'ien,  386 

Ping  Fa,  43 

P'ing  Shan  Leng  Yen,  323,  324 

Po  CHU-I,  163-175 

Poetesses,  101,  332,  333 

Poetry,  143-146 

Printing,  Invention  of,  209 

Proverbs  and  Maxims,  437~439 

Fu  SUNG-LING,  338-355 

RECORD  of  the  Buddhistic  Kingdoms, 
111-114 


Record  of  Travels  in  the  West,  281- 

287 

Rites  of  the  Chou  dynasty,  24 
Roman  Catholic  missionaries,  401 


SACRED  Edict,  386 
San  Kuo  Chih  Yen  7,  277-280,  310 
San  Tzti  Ching,  89,  250,  251 
Seven  Sages  of  the  Bamboo  Grove, 

61,  125 
Seven    Scholars    of   the    Chien-An 

Period,  119' 
SHAN  T'AO,  128 
Shanghai  ATews,  428 
SHAO  YUNG,  234 
Shen  Pao,  428 
Shen  Su,  299 
SHEN  Yo,  138 
Shih  Ching,  12 
Shift  Lei  Fu,  239 
Shu  Ching,  7 
SHIH  NAI-AN,  280 
Shiu  Hu  Chuan,  280,  281,  310 
Shun,  Emperor,  7,  8 
Shuo  Wen,  109 

Six  Idlers  of  the  Bamboo  Grove,  152 
Six  Scripts,  239 
Six  Traitorous  Ministers  of  the  Ming 

dynasty,  297,  299 
Slaying  a  Son  at  the  Yamen  Gate, 

271-273 

Spring  and  Autumn  Annals,  25-^1 
SSU-K'UNG  T'u,  179-188 
SsO-MA  CH'IEN,  57,  102-108 
Ssu-ma  Hsiang-ju,  97 
SsO-MA  KUANG,  217-219 
Story  of  the  Guitar,  325 
Story  of  the  Three  Kingdoms,  277- 

280 

Story  of  the  Western  Pavilion,  273 
"Strange  Stories,"  338-35$ 
Su  CHE,  227 
Su  SHIH,  83,  222-227 


INDEX 


447 


Su  Tai,  77 

Su  Tung-p'o,  161,  222 

Su  Wu,  82,  83 

SUN  SHU-JAN,  137 

SUN  Tzu,  43,  44 

SUNG  CH'I,  212,  216,  238 

SUNG  CHIH-WEN,  148,  149 

SUNG  LIEN,  291-293 

Sung  Tzu,  241 

SUNG  Yu,  53 

Sung  Yiin,  115 

Ta  Hsiieh,  41 
TAI,  the  Elder,  23 

the  Younger,  23 

TAI  TUNG,  238,  239 

Tai  Hsiian  Ching,  93 

T"ai  P'ing  Kuang  CAz,  240 

Tai  P'ing  Yu  Lan,  239,  418 

Tan  Ming-lun,  342 

TAN  KUNG,  45-47 

T'ang  the  Completer,  9 

Taoism,  56-74,  419 

Too  T2  Ching,  56-60,  227 

T'AO  CH'IEN,  128-132 

T'ao  Ku,  431 

T'ao  Yuan-ming,  128 

Ten  Courts  of  Purgatory,  420 

Three  Character  Classic,  250,  251 

Three  Suspicions,  The,  262,  263 

Topography  of  Kuangtung,  418 

Ts'ai  Ch'ien,  418 

TS'AI  YUNG,  95 

Ts'ang  Chieh,  6 

TS'AO  CHIH,  123,  124 

TS'AO  TS'AO,  120,  123,  277,  278-280 

TS'EN  TS'AN,  159 

TSENG  TS'AN,  41,  48 

Tso  Chuan,  8,  26-29,  25<» 

Tsui  HAO,  150,  151 

TSUNGCH'EN,  301-303 

Tu  CH'IN-NIANG,  178 

Tu  Fu,  156-158 

Tu  Yu,  191,  240 


Tu  Shu  Chi  CKfng,  386 

Tung-fang  So,  54,  97 

Tung  Chien,  217 

Tung  Chien  Kang  Mu,  228 

Tung  Chien  KangMu  San  Pien,  404 

Tung  Titn,  191,  240 

Twenty-four  Dynastic  Histories,  103 

Twice  Flowering  Plum-trees,  324 

WALL  Literature,  425,  426 

WANG  AN-SHIH,  217,  220-222,  235 

WANG  CHI,  135 

Wang  Chieh,  415 

WANG  CHIEN,  159 

WANG  CH'UNG,  94 

WANG  JUNG,  128 

WANG  Po,  146,  147 

Wang  Pu-ch'ing,  229 

Wang  Shih-cheng,  309 

WANG  SHIH-FU,  273 

Wang  Su,  48 

WANG  TAO-K'UN,  303-305 

WANG  TS'AN,  121 

Wang  Tzu-ch'iao,  151 

WANG  WEI,  149,  150 

WANG  YING-LIN,  250 

WEI  CHENG,  189 

W£n  Hsien  Tung  Jfao,  240 

Wen  Hsiian,  140 

WEN  T'IEN-HSIANG,  248-250 

Wen  Tzu,  44 

Wen  Wang,  9,  21 

Wit  and  Humour,  432 

Women,  Biographies  of,  92 

Women  as  Writers,  417 

Women,  Proper  Training  of,  393 

Women's  Degrees,  316 

Wu  SHU,  239 

Wu  Tzu,  44 

Wu  Wang,  10,  21 

YANG  Chi-sheng,  297,  301 
Yang  Chu,  37,  40 
YANG  HSIUNG,  93 


448 


INDEX 


YANG  I,  234 

Yang  Kuei-fei,  168-175 

Yang  Ti,  136 

Yao,  Emperor,  7,  8 

YEH  SHIH,  237 

YEN  SHIH-KU,  190 

YING  YANG,  122 

Yo  Fei,  261 

Yii,  The  Great,  8,  12,  26 

Yu  Chiao  Li,  309 

Yu  Li  CKao  Chuan,  420 


YUAN  CHI,  127 
Yiian  Chien  Lei  Han,  386 
Yuan  CKu  Hsiian  Tsa  Chi,  268 
YUAN  HSIEN,  127 
YUAN  MEI,  405 
Yiian  Shao,  95 
YUAN  Yii,  122 
YUAN  YUAN,  417 
Yung  Cheng,  387 
Yung  Lo,  296 
YungLo  Ta  Tien,  296 


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